A Fox's Love
by darthwizard
Summary: A friendship stronger than most is forged after being saved during a stormy night between Naruto and the Kyuubi. But when countries wage war and Naruto wants to rise above his status. Everyone knows it's just the dream of a peasant. female Kyuubi/Naruto harem later.
1. A new life

**A Fox's Love**

**Chapter 1: A new life**

"**Demon Speaking"**

"Normal speech"

"_Thoughts and emphasized words"_

_Thoughts and letters/newspapers_

**I'm planning on doing a first person point of view for Naruto mostly for this story. There will be parts where it is Third person but that's for any other character.**

**As stated by some reviewers, this story is set in the 1800's, Fire Country will be based on one European country along with one country from Asia. Some of you readers may not like this story because it's literately not a traditional Naruto fanfiction story but I wasn't hoping for it to be.  
**

**Read and review please.**

"_Sure people are famous for doing what's right, but many more are famous for doing what's wrong."_

-Yakov in a conversation to Isaac

**Prologue**

I always wondered what the world was like before the genius of man. Was it chaotic? Or was everything in complete order? I was always the type of boy who asked stupid questions. That may have been several of the reasons why grownups resented me. It wasn't like I didn't have any redeeming qualities about me. But for every good thing I always couldn't help but believe every bad thing too.

I'd like to say my story started back in the orphanage, but it started much further back. I could remember Konoha perfectly as if I was there. Great towering buildings were starting to pop up across the city. Lines of steel were being laid out across the country, with plans of traveling people along great metal leviathans. Roads were being paved with cement, instead of stone. Machines were replacing hands. Kids were sent to factories. Adults were drinking. Dealers were selling.

Yes, that was my city. That was my home. In the phoenix orphanage, I had the dream, of one day rising above my status, as a bastard, working from five in the morning till nine at night. Doing whatever the grownups told me to do at the work station. The orphanage wasn't that bad. Well, it kinda was. Still I was given a bed stuffed with straw and a bowl of rice a day. Yet, I still yearned for a better life back then.

My eyes were always drawn to the monasteries. The tall buildings in which everyone I knew celebrated their service day Fridays, worshiping the Ten Divines. The buildings in which virgin sisters and priests cared for children compassionately. I always loved service day, it was the only day out of the week I was given a break in the orphanage. The children in the monasteries weren't raised by _hand_ by the angry employees of the Phoenix Orphanage. Nor were they beaten with reed crafted ticklers and wooden paddles when they did something wrong.

This is my story.

**Naruto**

I huddled against a cold wall, trying my best to ignore the pain. The streets were deserted at this hour. Most of the people that were about seemed to be going home to avoid the rough storm. I felt pain course though my chest at the feeling of it rumbling like thunder.

Lightning crashed down, rain blew against the brick and mortar walls like pellets from weapons. The small knapsack that hugged my back was soggy from the rain. My bright orange jacket was in a similar state, along with my shirt, and pants.

Most people would cry at the prospect of being homeless and in the rain; with no shoes and food. I grew out of the crying stage a couple of years back and wasn't planning on showing anymore weakness.

I spotted an old wooden sheet which was beside some rotting trash across the alleyway. The sky was dark, and the only light that shined along the street were the lit oil lanterns. I ran across the alleyway and placed the wooden sheet above my head.

_Curse those damn men! I wouldn't be out in the street if the city guard didn't kick me out of my building._

The building was in reality more of an abandoned building. Though if I had known at that time it was going to be rebuilt into a sail factory for schooner ships, I would have left earlier. I was lucky enough though that the guards didn't send me to the orphanage. Though the fierce beating I received instead wasn't anything to brag about. I could still feel the stinging pain from the knocked out baby tooth as of now.

I was five when the head of the orphanage decided to kick me out. There was after all a strict rule that any child that outgrew their bed was sent out. That rule didn't seem to apply to me that day. I was given a fresh birthday surprise with no regard to how embarrassing it was to be laughed at by my peers, and then to be thrown out the door of the orphanage.

As a year went by memories of the orphanage felt warm instead of rough.

"Drivach Louskenvik Vova!" yelled out a man speaking an odd foreign language.

"What in bloody hell did he say?"

Their voices grew louder as they came closer.

"The man's name is Illarion. He said he spotted the little boy."

My cold hands flinched as I heard the person say "little boy". They had to be talking about me.

"Oh, Manitou I see him too. It's the boy from earlier."

Several different voices picked up in an uproar. I shuddered as a group of people formed around the street. A women's voice cut though most of groups bickering "He took my son! He was only a year old! No one ever found his body… and that filth over there is taunting me with his existence. He's not in that bloody orphanage nor is he hiding anywhere else!"

I turned my head towards where their voices were coming from. Candles in apartments across the street lit up. Various people were coming out of their homes to find out what was happening.

The people out in about also turned their attention on me, most of them had umbrellas or rain coats.

A familiar instinct told me to run and so I did. My bare feet skidded along the cobble stone alleyway. I moved to the side, and missed yellow water and smelly brown feces that came from above.

I continued to run realizing that the people that lived in the buildings above, were intentionally trying to cover me in their waste. A glass bottle tore into my skull causing the world to turn wobbly. The sky started raining red water. I thought that was impossible until I realized quickly it was my blood.

The mob of various people started to come closer and people from above yelled curses and threw down buckets of waste. I jumped up as people from the crowd started to throw rocks and bricks. The smell of waste and ammonia raked off of me as I turned left out of the alley way into a muddy road.

The crowd was closer than they were before. People were coming from a block away from the right side of the road and the mob was starting to near the end of the alleyway. I turned left, down the street at speeds that most grownups would be jealous of. I was always a fast kid, though back then even most trained genin had a tough time catching up to me. (That may be because of the fact that I was quite used to running away from people may it be because of theft or fear of a beating.)

I moved away from carriages and horsemen as I turned into an alleyway. All the way down I came to an intersection with only two ways to go. Hearing people yell and curse from the other end caused me to turn left.

The decision seemed fine until I came up to a tall wooden gate. Blood started to fall down my head like sweat and the stinging pain from the glass could still be felt. Men from the mob of people started to make their way down the alleyway.

I surveyed the fence top to bottom till I settled my eyes on a small hole big enough for me to slide though. I quickly slid my knapsack through the wooden fence hoping to get to it. I fell to my knees not caring about the pain with the one thought in mind of getting though in time.

I crawled forth gaining a couple of splinters along the way. I stuck my head and left arm through the other side feeling the cold rain brush against my blond hair. As I was about to put my right arm through a powerful force started to pull me back.

"Please sir! Stop it. I'm sorry for whatever I did! I didn't mean to do it!"

My plea wasn't heard, as he pull me back hard enough for me to lose my resistance on the other side of the fence. I stared at several men and women from all ages above their teens as they arrived. The man that pulled me out had rotting brown teeth and a smell that was as bad as mine.

"Stop your wining and struggling you little devil! Else I cut that throat of yours."

The woman from earlier arrived accompanied by three men who looked beyond abnormal. All three of them had on leather and bronze armor accompanied by the standard iron rapier issued to all soldiers of the military.

The woman had a beautiful face with shining orange hair and blue eyes that weren't even close to mine. She had fair skin and a curvy chest and butt that most men would settle for. Her icy stare though pierced my soul.

The anger in her voice amplified her look "Before I kill you I'm going to take something from you."

I was confused by what she said but my mind turned numb from the bleeding and then the beating. I can't recall what had happened. Though after a couple of hours of being punched, stabbed, cursed at, hung like a pig, and things I can't recall. All I could do through the whole experience was hug my knees when I could and cry for the first time in years.

The crowd quickly started to disperse into just a couple of dozen people. I was in my undershorts unable to move from my spot. Pain started to knot in my legs as I started to move them. The pain pinned me down and I knew from experience that moving broken legs did nothing but cause more pain.

Before I knew it the mob of people started to debate on killing me.

"Look if we kill him the demon, it might as well jump out of him right now."

_Demon_. The word tried to come out of my mouth in protest but it came out in a terrible spine tingling gargle.

"Little demon!" yelled a man kicking me in my gut with as much force as he could muster.

One of the men pulled out a knife holding it with a tight grip. Fear and worry were frozen upon my face. I was never beaten so bad in my life though I knew this life I cherished was going to vanish.

Coughing blood didn't stop my last stand "Why… are you doing this. I… aghh!"

It was too late though the man grabbed me by my blood stained hair causing protest among the group. Most of the crowd dispersed as they saw my blood pour from my neck. The man replied "I'm doing this because you are nothing more than waste air. You're the Kyuubi Kitsune and always will be."

Crimson energy began to surround my body like a cloak. Anger and ice cold hatred erupted in a shock wave of killer intent. The man tried to stab at my chest but his efforts were all for nothing. A split second later he was screaming on the ground trying to stop the blood from gushing out of his arm.

The neck wound started to close, and the smell of blood soon reeked throughout the whole alleyway.

**Several Days later**

I regained consciousness only to be blinded by the light of day. My first instinct was to open and close my eyes, to try to adjust to the light of the room. I was lying in a large soft bed tucked in snugly like a child. The soft bed brought back memories of his time at the orphanage. (I knew full well, that although their beds were stuffed with straw, it was at least nice enough to have a bed.)

I analyzed the room and concluded after clearing my head that I was at the hospital. I tried to remember how I arrived here only to not remember much. All I could think of was the feeling of the man's knife and being chased.

I was never a huge fan of the hospital. To be truthful I hated the hospital. It may have been because of an earlier incident, in which I accidentally caused the head of the orphanage to slip and fall on his ass, by placing a thin layer of water outside of his office door. The whole working station laughed when the news reached us, and the guys who slept next to me congratulated me for my actions. The head of the orphanage was a man named Sturgeon; I could barely remember his characteristics from over a year ago, except that he was well known for being greedy. His greed paid off though. I was sent to the hospital a month later upon finding out I was sick with the infamous Gastronidis.

He didn't forget how he was humiliated in front of his whole staff, so to settle the score _he_ purposely threw me in the hospital basement, locking the door behind me, during my checkup. When I was discovered a day later I was smart enough not to say a word. I later found out I wasn't sick with anything and I was surprised to find out there was no such thing as gastronidis.

"**You were an idiot back then, like you are now!"** The voice had an icy tone to it and whoever said it seemed to nearly roar it.

I looked around the room only to see that no one was there. All I heard were the murmurs of adults talking outside of my room. Already used to being called names I got out of bed and walked to the other side of the room by a dirty glass mirror.

A mind numbing memory of a bottle crashing against my head brought me to examine my head. My wavy blond hair was freshly washed and resumed its near gravity defying position. I was starting to wonder if the hospital staff took their time to wash me thoroughly, because there wasn't even a single speck of dirt, on my whisker like birth marked cheeks. The feeling of a cold knife sliding against my neck caused me to check it, only to find not even a single mark was there. My sapphire blue eyes widened when I heard voices pick up near my door.

Not really knowing what to do I stood where I was, as the door to my hospital room opened. A nurse dressed in thick starch white clothes, dropped the bucket of water, she was carrying as soon as her eyes settled on mine.

A doctor came in past her and said out loud "So you finally came out of your slumber. Elda how about you just come back in ten minutes, you can clean that up later, and_ he_ shouldn't be much of a problem. You just wait here for little while boy. And don't you worry. We'll be coming back and then you'll be _sent off_"

I cringed as he said sent off. Sent off where? To the orphanage or even a working station. There were worse fates than those, but even I had to admit I wasn't planning on seeing men like Sturgeon for a while.

Before he left I asked him "Do you know where my stuff is at?"

Dressed in only a thin white hospital gown, I was starting to wonder where my clothes went to.

"We couldn't find where they were at."

"How come?"

The doctor made note of my statement by vigorously writing down every word I just said. With a quick bye he left the room along with the nurse.

"**Your knapsack was thrown away as soon as they found it. I mean you had practically nothing on but old disgusting rags. Hell they did you a favor by throwing it away! I wonder if they're going to send you back to that orphanage." **Spoke that voice again in joyful tone.

Upon hearing the voice my tanned face flared red and I yelled back "Shut the Fuck up!"

(I was six back then but even so. I still had a tight vocabulary on anything that centered on curse words.)

The hospital wing became quiet but then went on to its normal chatty routine. Knowing my fate was sealed I sat on the bed feeling the rumbling of my belly tightening by the second.

"**You have five more minutes before that nurse comes back. There are a couple pairs of clothes that might be in your size in a room down the hall. Go now!"**

"Who are you?" I said aloud.

"**Ask those questions later. Right now you have no choice but to trust me."**

Not knowing any better, I walked out of the room without any further questions. As long as the person was helping me from going to the orphanage I was contempt on following their directions.

The cold tiled floor of the hospital chilled my back but I continued down the corridor.

No one was noticing me as I walked down the hall. Several men wearing headbands with the sigil of the leaf were too busy talking with each other to pay attention to a six year old. That was currently walking down the hospital hall, nearly naked, with the exception of his hospital gown on.

"So you heard about what they did to the poor ass?"

"No, what happened?"

"He pretty much got what he deserved in my opinion. The Hokage sent us a letter something about hands off and it's-"

Their conversation wasn't anything as shocking as a nurse flirting with a young man.

"So I heard you just came back from the border to the north. Is it as _exciting_ as they say? Or are there more _exciting_ things now that your home?"

"**Ok turn to the door on your right."**

I looked left taking notice of the waiting area for guests. Konoha hospital was the second biggest hospital in the country besides the one in the capital. It was renowned for having four floors; it was built in a square with a small courtyard in the middle, with over two thousand rooms, and some of the best medical shinobi in the country working in it. No one ever told me it was this easy to walk out of it. Out of everyone I encountered in the hall, only one man took peculiar notice of me.

He had straight dark brown hair and soul piercing light brown eyes. He had on a pair of glasses along with a casual suit, one would see on an educated person. He held a book in his hands thick enough to make me wonder how long it would take me to finish it.

The man just stared at me before going back to reading as if I was nothing to him. In a way that always hurt more than the words people said to my face.

"**Are you runner up for dumbest peasant of the year? Just turn right not left. Do you even know what right is?"**

"Yes I do." I replied back with anger in my voice being evident.

I turned right and opened the door to the room, as I went in.

…..

**Konoha Council Chamber**

Danzo sat in his respectable seat he had held for almost ten years and for the first time in his life he felt almost uncomfortable in it. Back pain wasn't the key issue to Danzo's enigma. Though if Danzo could say who the main cause of it was. The only word that would come from his mouth would be Hiruzen.

"I would be honored to represent our country when we save the poor souls Zaire. Though before I leave, I'd like for everyone to vote on supporting the converted tribes' allegiance with our village." Spoke Mr. Nergui.

Mr. Nergui was from the Nergui clan near the southern border of Hi no Kuni. While he wasn't quite popular among civilians; most of the council members in the room respected his position as head speaker of foreign relations. A position he held for the past three years after he signed a trade alliance with the Dravot Empire.

Sarutobi smiled his grandfather smile as everyone including Danzo replied to Koharu Utatane with an "aye" as she called for everyone's vote. Sarutobi then huffed from his pipe before saying "We shall miss you while you are gone. And I hope you and explorer Morton can make the king proud."

After going through problem after problem for roughly thirty minutes, Danzo wasn't surprised as a civilian clan head spoke up "Are the rumors true?"

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow in utter confusion and asked the man to repeat himself.

"Well I heard about that _boy_ being rough handled by dozens of people in an alleyway. And I'd like to sleep better at night knowing if he was the one who killed those people and not someone else."

Danzo stared at Sarutobi's eyes knowing how badly the man hated his job. The civilian's statement caused an uproar of murmurs, in which the whole room started to ramble about debating a six year olds fate.

"The boy is nothing more than a horrible demon!"

"He killed my brother!"

"The little thieving fuck has been stealing from one of my stores for the past year. He owes me for the lives of ten of my employees from six years ago."

Some other clan heads debated on the topic too.

"He's only five or six years old! That's like killing my daughter."

"The demon might release from his body if we actually go through with it."

Most of the thirty people in the room seemed to be on the debate; however there were a few exceptions. Fagaku Uchiha seemed to be quite only listening in on each side. Council member Clement Sasaki, (a well-known enemy of Danzo's around the council), just sat there and smiled. So were council members Abir Levi, and of course like always clan head Shibi Aburame. Hiruzen broke the pointless bickering by slamming his fist on the table.

"Before we continue calling each other names and acting like children, I would like to say that these last five days have been both tiring and stressful for all of us. But that doesn't mean any of you have the right to persecute a boy and especially one that has suffered enough. So I have now made a law. Anyone who plans on harming Naruto will lose a hand. Anyone planning or acting on trying to take his life will lose their head. Do I make myself clear!?"

"Yes Hokage-sama. I think we all agree with you. But what about those who he killed?" spoke Hiashi Hyuga while glaring at his lifelong enemy Fagaku.

"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with them now that they are dead. I'll be truthful by saying eleven of them were killed and only two of the ones that were there survived. The families of ones that were killed will be getting a compensation for their ignorance but not much. The ones who survived will get nothing but a warning since I think there wasn't any law about this before. I will also say that Naruto did not take any part in their deaths, and any leak in the seal shall be fixed immediately if there even is one."

His speech seemed to calm done the council for now. Although Danzo now wondered if the all of the council would take the laws to heart or bide their time. All Danzo could think about was that at least he was going to take action.

The meeting dismissed until next month and Danzo waited until the last man left the room before saying to his friend "So where is he going?"

"Who is this _he_ you are talking about?"

"Naruto, who else would I be talking about?"

"I was thinking about the orphanage but I know that place is going to tear him apart."

"Then consider my plan. Give the boy a large apartment and give him three caretakers for a year before he leaves for the academy."

"When you say caretakers, who are you planning on sending Danzo? Shinobi, soldiers, root agents, do you ever think about the fact that I'm in charge not you?"

"I know you're in charge but you're only in charge of this village and while the king and his daimyo are in charge of this country. They don't have to deal with hundreds of problems with running this village. I was only considering putting a retired root spy not an agent, a body guard of a close friend, and a man who makes steel for soldiers as Naruto's caretakers. He needs people for him to look up too."

"Danzo I'll _consider_ what you said." Danzo smiled knowing that when Hiruzen said _consider_ it was always a positive yes "But why them?"

"They are good people and you can trust me on that and if you can't I'm putting Might Guy as head supervisor of the three of them."

Hiruzen smiled before saying "Alright but I'm only going to allow this test to last half a year if it doesn't work. And if you are trying to do something sinister believe me I will find out quickly."

Danzo left knowing that he had a lot of work to do and Hiruzen too had work of his own to accomplish.

…

**Konoha Hospital**

I was currently staring at the weird masked men in front of him knowing full well that he was in for it. The plan nearly worked though I couldn't find any clothes in my size or any shoes too. I felt almost hopeless until the voice in my head yelled **"wear some of the women's clothes and find a belt.**"

There were no shoes in my size not that I cared, mainly because I have been walking barefoot around Konoha since I was born. Half the kids in the orphanage wore shoes and those were the kids who everyone knew was going to be adopted. The rest just had to deal with it.

I continued out of the room having to deal with the cold tiled floor as I followed the voices directions.

"**Down the hall. Shut up brat while I give you directions. Go down the stairs to your right. Look at that nice beautiful women right there."**

That woman had no arms and was cursing words I had recently come to know. Doctors and visitors were too busy to pay attention to me as they were trying their best to stop her bleeding. The metal headband on her head was enough to tell me she was a shinobi. I stopped looking and continued to follow the voices directions.

"**Now comes the hard part. Just walk out of that very wide doorway without being spotted. Due note that there are eyes from the front desk watching it at all times. Along with two officers, and you have little time before that nurse comes down here with everyone in the hospital ready to get you."**

I bolted from the column I was behind and ran past them. I passed nearly everyone until I pushed down an officer. He fell down causing everyone to look at me with shock. I paid no mind to his curses as I made my way out of the building. I felt the warm air and saw the beautiful clear blue sky of a normal summer day.

As I made my way down the road seeing glares and curses I couldn't help but feel how easy it was to escape the hospital. Only to feel strong hands push me down against the warm stone street. Causing an uproar of laughs from peasant to merchant alike.

I was back quicker than it took for me to escape and I didn't feel any better about it.

"May I get something to eat?"

One of the masked men was about to say something until a slim man with a short black beard walked into the room I was in. The room I was in was the closest thing to a cell any child could imagine. It was lit only by a couple of candles and the small window near the ceiling brought in barely enough light to illuminate the room. It had only three chairs and a small table. The door to the room had locks and seals on the other side to prevent me from escaping again. It was however very big and the masked guards that were watching my every move looked like guys you would hear about from a horror story.

The man who walked into the room I was in had a narrow body. He seemed to have a cheerful grin on his face and he wore woolen trousers, a small black vest with an undershirt under it, and had wooden clogs that slapped the tiled floor as he sat down.

One of the armored masked men walked out of the room as the man whispered into his ear. The other stayed but leaned out against the corner of the room.

"**Look you will have to lie to these men alright. Just think what you would like to say to me before you say it aloud. Do this and I promise I will reward you. You saw how I helped you get out of this hospital?"**

I wondered if the voice was right about that. He helped me escape alright, but at the cost of me being locked up in this room.

"**How was I supposed to know those men would capture you. Plus haven't you realized everything I say to you no one else can hear. Just think about what you would like to say to me before this man asks you a question." **replied the voice in an annoyed tone.

I thought about what I'd like to say until I said it in my head _"Why should I help you?"_

"**Because I can reward you well. All you have to do is play dumb and say what I tell you to say. Can I get an Aye?"**

I gave the voice an "aye".

"So Naruto before we start I would like for you to know my name is Doctor Ryoko. I'm a specialist in personal cases such as you. Are you feeling fine at the moment?"

"I am. I'm just hungry."

"Well we can give you some food once I'm done asking you questions. Now do you remember anything from the night you were attacked?"

Truthfully I couldn't bring up many memories from that night and I wondered why it was such a big deal for everyone. It's not like it wasn't the first time I was beaten very badly. It most likely won't be the last time.

"**Tell the kind man everything you can remember."** Spoke the voice as if I couldn't comprehend what it was telling me.

"I was chased down an alleyway after a couple of men spotted me… I ran until I was trapped and it is a little… hazy from there. I remember everything until they started attacking me. I remember though a man stabbing my throat but… that's about it."

Ryoko brought out a pad of paper and started writing everything I said down. He then asked another question "Did you feel a cold feeling in your stomach that night. Or any spike of power and anger."

I remembered feeling an eruption of anger and an icy feeling reek from my body that night. My eyes widened a little at his question and it didn't go unnoticed.

"**Tell him you don't know, but you were angry. Hump… I guess I forgot to clip some things from you."**

I ignored the voices comment and said "I don't know… I was angry though when they started attacking me."

Ryoko wrote what I said down while asking his next question "Did any of the attackers say anything to you?"

I replied back with a yes. I tried to think back to that night but all I received was a hazy black cloud of nothing.

"Like what?"

"**You better tell him 'they said words that you can't say in public.' Also tell him they called you a demon."**

I told the man every word the voice told me to say. He wrote every word I said in a quick pace.

"Do you hear any voices in your head?"

Too shocked by the question to answer quickly enough he started to stare at my eyes in anticipation for my response back.

"**Answer HIM NOW!"**

I recovered from the shock after the voices words and answered back "No."

Ryoko had a look of confusion on his face in how to deal with the dilemma in front of him. He then shrugged my late response almost physically, before writing down a single word on the pad of paper.

"I have one more question for you boy and you will be off. Why did you try to escape earlier today?"

"Because I didn't want to go back to the orphanage. If that's where you guys plan on sending me I'm not leaving this room?"

Without forgetting to write down that statement he left the room accompanied by the masked man. They were smart enough to lock the door on their way out leaving me to myself. After waiting thirty minutes with nothing to do but hear my belly rumble louder after each rumble the door opened to the smell of soup.

Two men came inside the room after I heard Ryoko say "I don't think the boy has a problem. Not mentally, I don't think the seal is much of problem too, it is most likely a onetime thing."

"Ok" spoke a man, who was covered in soft white linen bandage cloth. He wore expensive looking wool robes, although his bandage cloth seemed to make him look almost like a patient. The bandages made me tense upon examining his bandaged covered left eye.

The door closed behind them and behind the bandaged man was a familiar face. It was none other than the man from earlier today with the glasses. He had a kind and almost fatherly presence, which seemed to soften his older and much scarier bandaged companion. He still had on that matching casual business suit from earlier. They both didn't look like anything special until they placed a large bowl of soup in front of me.

….

To say that they were surprised by me finishing the soup in less than a minute was an understatement. The older man looked at me and said in a fierce tone of voice "Naruto this man beside me is Amasa Wemmick. He is an honorable man and he will be taking care of you for a while."

That peaked my interest but a loud rumble from my chest peaked Amasa's as I said to them "Is there any more soup?"

Amasa laughed a little before saying "I wish. But to be truthful I can't give you anymore until an hour passes. I don't want you to die from stomach expansion."

I was instead given some milk and water to drink while Ryoko went to give me a fresh pair of clothes. Instead I listened to two grownups discuss personal matters.

"Look Danzo it is nice that you brought me out of retirement but I'm telling you I've moved on."

"This isn't any dangerous mission, not that you were assigned awfully too many. This is more babysitting."

"Then tell me why you chose me and not any of your personal henchmen."

"Are you sure we should discuss this in front of _him_." Replied Danzo emphasizing the word him.

"I've had two kids and a father always knows that six year olds can barely understand half of what adults speak of."

"That is why I chose you."

Their conversation then quickly turned into friendly conversation making. I was confused by what was going on and wanted to speak to the voice.

"_So what is going to happen to me? Am I really going to be taken care of by that man Amasa?"_

"**You know you are. This was my plan all along if you weren't caught the people at the orphanage would have taken to take you in. Instead they asked this man to take care of you instead. You need to be thanking me for what I've done."** The icy tone went away but it sounded rougher than anything else.

I didn't quite believe the voice but thanked it none the less for reasons unknown.

….

"This is what they gave us!"

Ms. Ida a body guard of a nobleman yelled that out in frustration. I wouldn't have blamed her for saying it. The village gave us a four room apartment in the center of the poor part of Konoha. It was the best anyone could do for us in a short period of time. But I think she was madder at the condition of it instead of the space. Peeling ceiling, trashed floors, and a retched odor filled the living room. There were currently only two beds and Amasa gave his up for Ms. Ida. Amasa told me that she was one of the three people sent to care for me. I knew Amasa was one of them and asked for the other. His only reply was "He's currently busy trying to make a living."

I didn't ask any more questions because I was in a tired state of affair. Amasa brought me to my room and tucked me in saying Mrs. Ida was going to clean the place tomorrow.

He read me a chapter from the book _The Dragon and the Headsman _before leaving the room to myself. It was the first time anyone tucked me in and read me a story. I wondered if life was going to get better from here on out.

"**You keep on thinking that."**

I ignored the voice and fell asleep.


	2. The Flats

**A Fox's Love**

**Chapter 2: The Flats**

"**Demon Speaking"**

"Normal speech"

"_Thoughts and emphasized words"_

(Clarifying)

**As soon as I published my story I quickly went to writing my second chapter. I'm planning on writing Naruto becoming a genin before chapter ten so I will have to have quite a few time skips.**

* * *

"_I know the world hasn't been kind to you. You have seen mostly the bad side of everything but do know Naruto. The world is as good as it is bad and it's been like that since the beginning of time. And it will continue to be like that."_

-Amasa counseling Naruto

**Naruto**

I was currently watching other kids play outside from my bedroom window with envy. It had been just over two months since I met my caretakers and life seemed much better. But even I couldn't just shake off the fact that I wasn't allowed to leave the apartment without any of the caretakers watching over me.

"Naruto are you ready?" asked Ida using her usual annoyed tone of voice.

Ida Fermata was a pretty woman who was in her mid-thirties, and she still had enough curves in the right places to make nearly any man propose to her. Her black hair and brown eyes seemed to stare at other men's souls.

"Yes." I replied even more annoyed at what she and Amasa had planned.

Although I think she may have been more annoyed at the fact that I nearly devoured the whole table during breakfast. She took one look at my face when I finished eating nine pancakes, ten sausages, and three apples. (The looks and glares she would send me nearly every day, seemed to always be about something I didn't know about. Not that I really paid attention to a little hate.)

Amasa said I was growing as fast as a weed from all the food I was eating. About two months back I was around three feet nine inches tall. Two months later I grew to four feet and two inches tall. Since I couldn't fit into my old clothes Amasa thought my new clothes would make me look more like a gentleman.

I was dressed in a freshly dyed and washed pair of black trousers that were a little tight around my legs. I had on a white fancy collared shirt that tugged on my neck, as if someone was tying a noose around it. The fine wellington leather boots Amasa bought me felt as if someone was trying to constrict my feet. I wasn't used to wearing any of this especially for service days.

I began to tug at my collar.

"Boys such as you should be ashamed for taking advantage of what they get." Ida said while smacking my head with her hand.

"**She seems to be one of those people that just love you."**

I was confused _"What makes you think that? I mean she is an ass but…"_

"And you are always silent like a craven. It's no wonder you have no friends." As soon as Ida stopped talking, she quickly moved by my side and grabbed a strand of my wavy blond hair.

I cringed at the sudden pain radiating from the roots of my hair as she began to pull it. I wondered if she was trying to tear my head off with her bare hands as the pain began to grow more and more by the second.

"Ow Ow Ow. Stop It!" Ida quickly stopped as soon as she received her reward.

"Nice to know you can say stuff that isn't either yes or no."

"**Ah-ah-ah-ah... she is right you know. You are too quiet. It's almost sickening to watch." **The voice seemed to grow more malicious by the day.

"_I wonder if I'm sane to hear a voice as mean as you!"_

"**It's always good to wonder."**

Ida soon left me to myself by the window to go put on her makeup. How she ended up as my caretaker, was a question that just wouldn't go away? However the real question after all was why I keep hearing the voice?

"**That is a good question. But try not to delve too deep into it. You need to after all… go pray. How about you do that?"**

…

Arti was a tall muscular man who towered over most people. He was around twenty five and I assumed he was just over six and half feet tall. He was my third caretaker and a self-dedicated black smith. His service day clothes were tight around him almost as if just a single move was enough to rip them. He told me in a more peasant voice than mine that "Well little one. It must have been many years since I last bout myself a new pair of clothes."

Arti was a nice man but even I wondered if a first grader at the academy could out smart him. He just seemed well… too dumb.

"**You shouldn't be saying anything. I mean you have the intelligence of a fag gatherer."**

"_And you have the heart of a demon."_

"**And what if I do? What are you going to do about it?"**

I didn't reply back knowing full well that an argument with the voice would just end up with me being berated until my eyes watered.

Amasa opened the door to the monastery and walked the four of us inside. Because today's service hadn't started yet we were greeted with the few dozens of people that were currently inside. People stared at me in fear and moved away from our group as if I was some sort of _murderer_.

It had been over a month since Amasa wanted me to become more _social_. If he thought watching from the side of his shoulder, while talking to clients, was anything close to social, I couldn't help but think he was a little crazy. If anything kids my age were more scared away by his hovering presence than their actually fear of me.

"**Or they hear whispers in their ears about how much an ugly monster you are. Ever considered that?"**

Red hot anger flared between my cheeks at hearing that but I did my best to not say anything mean to the voice, especially now that it was service day. Amasa ended up getting us a seat in the front row. How he did that so quickly upon coming in was amazing. The monastery the four of us went to every Sunday and every Id was one of the largest and nicest in the west side of Konoha.

It was both funded and kept together by the Inuzuka Clan a rich noble family that has had a presence in Konoha since its founding. After waiting thirty minutes for everyone to get to service the usual reserved seats along both front rows were quickly taken.

A tall wolfish looking woman stared at me from her right shoulder then went back to staring ahead. I wondered if it was normal to have slit-like irises but I held my tongue. Her whole family was wearing tailored suits and dresses that most of the people in this room would feel jealous of just owning. Her son was to my left, and as soon as she caught him tugging at his collared buttoned up shirt a quick slap to his head stopped his actions.

The monastery had the smell of incense and burning wax. The stain glass windows along the walls brought in colorful light as the organ at the far end of the room began to play.

On cue the whole monastery chanted "Peace was brought by the hands of the gods. We bring forth our loving hand to them."

The high priest brought out a book and told us to sit down. Like a normal service day we said our prayers and lit candles to each of the divines. Everyone went back to their seats to hear him say where our weekly donations were going to go to.

"I have received news that our country may be go to war against the dark heathens who won't embrace one of the greatest nations in the world. The southern tip of the Temujin continent is where these pagans reside in a split city state nation called Zaire. If we will go to war… our nation will need money. Spare what you can!" spoke Jova the high priest of the monastery as he held out the donation basket.

Every week we gave money to the monastery as a donation for the poor, (something I found notably good), for I knew there were many poor people in Hi no Kuni that needed the money. I happily donated the silver florin that Amasa gave me to the donation basket, knowing full well that I would be an ungrateful boy if I didn't support my nation in need.

Jova went to his podium after collecting the donation money and said "Selah, peace be with you all this afternoon."

With service day now over, every villager lucky enough to be in the monastery got up from their seats in perfect harmony in order to enjoy the rest of their afternoon.

I was waiting outside of the monastery intent on waiting for Amasa to take me home. He was after all the only caretaker I truly cared about. If it wasn't for all the work he had to do, he would have been my only caretaker. It seemed as though Ida was the only one that was always with me, and I knew deep down that neither of them trusted Arti enough for him to watch my back.

I was currently kicking around a rock with my boot as I heard a voice say "Hey you right there! May you accompany me for a little while?"

That voice came from a brown haired boy who was around my age. He had a distinctive wolfish look to him. It took just one look to know he was an Inuzuka, one of Hi no Kuni's most powerful and influential families. His slit eyes were just a giveaway along with his tailored shirt and grey pants. I quickly realized he was the boy who sat right next to me in the front row.

I looked at the front door of the monastery and saw Amasa and Ida chatting with several grownups. Arti already left to go back to the forge and I doubted I would hurt anyone by just playing with him.

"Sure, although I don't know exactly why you want me to accompany you?"

He looked at me as if he was examining an insect. The gaze was unfamiliar to me. Most people usually gave me either a death gaze or just plain out ignored me.

"Are you going to come or not?"

"Alright, names Naruto Uzamaki if you wanted to know. I guess it was a stupid question anyways."

"It certainly was… anyways, I heard about another dropper."

I looked at the front door of the monastery, and saw Amasa shaking hands with the high priest. Amasa turned his head and glanced at me. His glasses reflected the bright summer sun as he turned to go inside. Ida left the front steps to go somewhere leaving me all to myself. I quickly looked back at the Inuzuka and said "What's your name by the way?"

"Names Kiba… Kiba Inuzuka."

…. …. …. … ….

We arrived at the flats in a quick haste to see the fight. The flats were numerous groups of apartments and shanty towns where all of the lower class workers lived at. The roads were unpaved, the wells were dirty beyond belief, and anyone who had a toilet had to share it with numerous people.

My experience here was only brief though. It was around a year ago when I was last here, and I had just been kicked out of the orphanage. The phoenix orphanage was only a block away from the flats and I needed a place to sleep. To simplify my story it was plain out hell. I stayed with a homeless man and was nearly killed several times within a week.

Black clouds of coal and soot went into the air from the various factories vents. People from all ages wore dirty clothes and they all possessed a distinctive disgusting scent that made me want to vomit my breakfast out of my mouth.

To say the least droppers were sights to see whenever ones bored or just want's riches. I remembered when I first heard about them in the working station. Everyone who worked in my row waited until lights out to sneak our way to the orphanage gate. If I had known that droppers were men who were beaten to a bloody pulp I would gone straight to bed.

"So exactly why do you want to see someone getting dropped Kiba?" I asked in a respectful manner.

"I heard my uncle talking about these fights and I wanted to see them for myself. Don't know why but I thought it would be best to come here with someone rather than go alone."

We passed women wearing thin clothes from outside saloons. Men wearing fancy clothes persuaded customers to go inside houses overflowing with smoke. Shops and cafes were mostly desolate except for the few customers who the time to get food and supplies. It was a peaceful day in the flats from what I could tell. Kiba wasn't taking the flats as easily as I would have thought.

We continued on until we came to a crowd of peasants cheering in harmony with the loud shrieks of pain. Women held their hands to their mouths in order to deal with the bloody sight. Men pumped their fists in the air and yelled out curses at the grunts of men. We were able to squeeze our way to the front of the crowd only to stop as soon as we saw a bloody man flailing on the ground.

A fat gray bearded man wearing nice clothes and a top hat yelled out to everyone in the crowd "The winner of this match is none other than the notorious and heroic Ramadi!"

The crowd of peasants cheered praise to the victor who was panting across from his slender opponent. Ramadi was about as tall as Arti, his charcoal black hair glistened with sweat, his exposed chest was covered with bruises and various marks of soot, and his tanned skin was almost as tanned as mine. I wondered though if he was sick due to his pale face and his various shakings.

"Now comes the part we all have been waiting for… drop him!"

I stared at the bloody slender opponent who was on his knees crying. Ramadi picked the poor lad a couple of inches off the ground with a little strain. He then turned his opponent over bridal style letting beads of sweat rain down on the ground. Ramadi's muscles clenched with a florid color, showing the crowd how much strength he was going to put into this. In a single second the helpless opponent was shoved onto Ramadi's raised knee. A loud _crunch_ caused a sickening uproar of applause within the crowd.

The opponent was on his back, gargling each time he opened his mouth. Men and women were being handed shining coins and pieces of paper that had the King face on it. Everything was back to normal until the gargling man started to choke on something in his throat. Everyone became silent upon hearing that noise.

"Come on take him to get checked up!" shouted a tall yellow skinned man wearing a handmade straw hat.

Two boys who both looked around eleven years old dragged the man away from the ring of peasants. I could distinctly see yellow bile spewing from the poor lad's mouth. I felt a tight tugging along my white sleeved shirt and turned to see Kiba with a concerned look on his face.

"Let's get out of here."

I nodded in complete agreement and followed my companion to the monastery. We were after all only just over two miles away from the monastery, it wasn't a bad walk to get here, and I doubted it would be a treacherous walk back.

As soon as we got out of the ring of yelling people I couldn't help but say to Kiba "It's alright the guys not dead. That's actually the first time I've seen someone get dropped like that. They usually just beat them on the ground till they pass out."

"How do you know about all this stuff?"

The question took me off guard. I actually just wanted to comfort Kiba because seeing someone get dropped for the first time is always shocking. Even so, Amasa told me over a month ago that you can't hide from your past forever. I never believed him until now. I just wanted to stop thinking about the orphanage and about all the beatings.

"I grew up around here."

We passed several shops and we were about to go past the Western Gate Post Office when Kiba replied back "My mom always told me that anyone from the West side is either an animal or a low life. Yet she wants me to hang out with all the East side jerks like the Hyuga."

"Who are the Hyuga?"

Kiba looked at me for a second giving me a questioning glance "It's hard to explain. They pretty much own half the East Side of Konoha. They hate the Uchiha in the South Side. I rarely find much use in playing with their heirs… cause they usually pick on me."

"Why do they do that?"

"It's because I'm from the west side. Many clans and political people look down on us for living here. They even look down on the Aburame clan. The Hyuga and the Uchiha know their better than us. I guess their children can't help but think so too."

As soon as we arrived by the post office a man dressed in fine wool clothes bumped into Kiba hard enough to bring my companion to his bottom.

"Watch where you go, you lit brat bastard!" he yelled with incomprehensible dialect.

The man had on expensive trousers and a clean buttoned down shirt. He had dark black eyes and greasy black hair. I grabbed Kiba's left hand and pulled him to his feet.

"You Bloody Fuck!" yelled a man wearing a black tail coat.

I stood still too shocked to move as he pulled out an iron barreled pistol out of his front coat. The loud blast shook my ears and I assumed it shook Kiba's too.

**The King's Westside Monastery**

Amasa stared at a peculiar painting in the far corner of Jova's office. There was a man and a boy in winter clothes walking away from a Snow covered church. Both of them were carrying a long stick and people looked at them both oddly. Everything in the picture was painted bleak with brown, white, black, and even a little of green and dark orange. Everything was grim, except a single woman wearing a red dress. Amasa wondered why she was holding her hand out towards both the man and the boy.

"Ah, so you noticed my painting." replied Jova.

"Odd thing it is. Where did you get it?"

"A painter from the continent of Weyrnia painted it well over a century ago. The painters name was Pieter something. I heard he came from a country called Mercia. Beautiful place from what people tell me. Anyways Teru Inuzuka donated the painting along with three pounds of gold florins. It must have cost him a fortune though… but he told me he bought it from a merchant vessel from Dravot. Ah-ah-ah I guess now I can help build those new wells in the flats now, right?"

"Teru Inuzuka gave you three pounds of gold florin! How many coins was that?"

"I don't know around fifty. I mean he's been more generous than most of his clan members lately. The only exception is he never shows up to service day or any other holiday like the Id's. I don't like that he's turning his head around and not praising the divines… but as long as the money helps people I really don't care."

"I remember the time before the enclosure act. This city wasn't as dirty. The people weren't killing or raping. You rarely needed money to help people back then. And the trees… in just ten years this village can change just so much, it makes you wonder dear friend."

Jova stared at me. He was dressed in white wool robes, which had the ten rings of each divine laced in black thread at the center of his chest. Golden needle laced thread trailed down Jova's robes, which made Amasa think that his outfit was almost like a golden veil.

"You did a good deed in helping that _boy_ out. May the divines help him prevail against the demonic creature that plagues him day and night!"

"He's a good boy. Handsome actually… I bet he will one day attract girls all the way from the North Side of the village. He's still learning how to read and wear clothes normally like a gentleman. From what I understand they teach kids in the orphanage how to work rather than how to read and write. Is that true?"

"Well it's like you said. Times are changing. People are starting to use machines more and kids need to go to work in order to fill in some of the jobs. That program you just mentioned where we spent money teaching kids to read and write. I hate to say this but it was failing. I did my best to keep that program from falling under and I even made a case to the council about it. But when they heard a report from Hiashi Hyuga, about how only a fifth of the children actually learned to read and write. Let's just say my case fell to death ears. Why do you ask?"

Jova went to his desk and unlocked a wooden cabinet. He brought out a brown colored wine bottle that had a tight vintage label around it with the red words _Red Caudae. _

"I don't know seems like a case worth fighting for. I expected the boy to be more open. He's just… well… unsociable. I've taken him to my office and he does nothing in there but look out of the window. I've tried to bring him to the park to find companions and make friends. And it's just…" Amasa said while watching his friend pour wine into two glasses.

"Have you tried talking to him about it?"

"I try but he's always thinking to himself. He rarely opens up. And the thing that freaks me out about all of this is… I can't blame him one bit."

"Where is he now?"

"Ida left to take care of someone and Arti well… he… let's just say he went to his forge. I saw Naruto playing with one of the Inuzuka's before I came to talk with you. He's probably still out there now."

"You know what? You're a very good person for taking care of him. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job than you."

"The thing is… there are most likely many people who would have done the job better than me. The only reason why I took the job was because-"

A man wearing a green flask jacket barged into Jova's office and yelled out "I'm sorry to interrupt you two but a serious issue has arrived!"

**Butch Avenue **

Kiba stared at the lifeless corpse on the road. Carts loaded with grains and coal passed by us in a fast pace. I was currently sitting on a wooden crate pondering about what had just happened. It had happened just so quick, the man… he just brought out his pistil. Then the next second the finely dressed jerk fell to the muddy road lifeless.

"What's your name boy?"

The words floated in my head for a few seconds before going out. The waves of blood coming out of the holes in the man's neck and chest continued to pump out in small crimson waves. A group of coal covered men and children stood around me in a ring. The whole crowd was trying to do their best job in glaring me down, as if I committed the heinous crime. Whispers and curses accompanied their glares.

"I'm going to ask you one more time! And you better answer or else I'll put manacles around those slim hands of yours!"

I looked up and saw a tall officer of the city guard. He had a clean shaven face with black hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in a finely ironed out black uniform, with shining bronze buttons going down his chest, he also had on black trousers and a blue custodian hat that finished his look. More officers arrived at the scene, wearing similar outfits with black leather boots stomping the muddy ground. Unlike the man yelling at me, they had on blue shallow tail coats with high collars.

"Baryon stop yelling at that _boy_!" yelled an officer with short brown hair and gentle looking grey eyes.

The officer was younger than the others but his masculine presence was just as potent. I was surprised to see a blue headband around his forehead, with the insignia of the leaf pressed onto a metal plate. He wore the headband with pride rather than the officers wearing the average custodian hat.

I was always excited to see a shinobi walking about. It might have been an old dream I had when I was growing up. I wanted to be powerful and at the very least be a person people would look up to. Each time Might Guy would visit I was always the one who would ask him questions like "is the job really cool? Have you ever defeated a deadly shinobi? Can you show me a jutsu? Do you think I can a ninja too one day?"

He would usually say something along the lines as "The flames of youth are strong in you. But beware of the dark flames of youth."

His responses to my questions always left me in a confused state of mind. Amasa told me that I was going to be enrolled in the academy soon so I shouldn't keep asking Guy any more questions. Not that I really listened to him. As of now though, I'd say my _excitement_ of seeing a shinobi was thin.

The brown eyed man now identified as Baryon looked into my eyes for a split second, trying in his best attempt to stare me down. He yelled back at the shinobi "Why should I? He witnessed a murder and it's my duty to figure out who did it!"

"Examine him long and hard, and tell me if you truly want to put manacles around his hands."

The officer looked at my face. He placed his rough hand on my chin, and forcefully moved my head left and right. His brown eyes quickly widened as if he realized something.

"Ahh god-damn it… if you're a bloody genius how about you ask him?"

"My names Kiba Inuzuka and his names Naruto… I can't remember his last name."

I was surprised by Kiba's outburst and even more so when the officer with the black eyes replied with a smirk "An Inuzuka… so you… let me get this straight. When did you meet _Naruto_?"

Kiba looked down at the ground not meeting the officer's gaze as he said "I met him around noon."

"Was it his suggestion to come to the flats where people end up like that piece of shit?"

"I-I… it…_was_" stuttered Kiba while whispering the word was.

I wondered what was wrong until a furious looking brown haired woman marched her way through the ring of onlookers, accompanied by four men wearing headbands. I knew for certain that I was certainly fucked as I saw her familiar face.

"Hey what in the ten divines names are you doing ma'am… oh lady Tsume… I beg your forgiveness. Is there something you need?"

"Yes! I want us to speak inside of that post office with… my… both of those boys there."

"I'm sorry but they witnessed a murder. We can't just let that slide. I mean, we asked around and half the other witnesses say they were in front of the perpetrator. They will have no choice but to go in front of a judge and explain what happened."

Tsume didn't take the man's comment lightly as she replied with pure malice "You like that hat of yours don't you? I know you do so I'll only say this once. Bring those brats inside the office now or else you and your friends won't have a job by tomorrow! And I'll make sure a more reasonable man wears that hat."

With a look of horror the shinobi-officer replied "Look just do what she says now."

The sun was beginning to set as I was dragged inside of the dirty post office.

…. … …..

It must have been the divines messing with me or I was just plain out unlucky. It had been just over two months since I was last placed in a similar situation. After being captured by masked men and questioned by doctor Ryoko I tried my best to not cause any more trouble. I stopped thieving and I did my best to stop cursing. Even with a mysterious voice in my head, I did my best to be a good boy.

"**That friend of yours is going to get you into trouble. I know you think you are such a good boy but I can't help but say. You are fucked!"**

I couldn't deal with the voice right now but even so I doubted Kiba would throw me under the carriage so quickly.

"_If I'm worried about anyone getting me into trouble it's that woman. I also know even if I get out of this unscathed. I'm still going to have to deal with Ida and Amasa."_

"**Then you are double fucked. If anything you will need me later on."**

I was currently locked in the basement of the post office. A single cuff around my ankle, kept me chained to the bronze pipe in the far corner of the basement. The air smelled of dust and mildew. The bright orange light of the sunset creaked through the basement window. The chair in which I was on creaked with every movement I made. The only excitement in the room was my dangling feet, which were hovering above the dusty ground.

I was more worried about my companion, not because of the fact that he was going to blame me for bringing him to the flats. But because I knew the bloody crime we both just witnessed was most likely tearing him apart from the inside. He wasn't used to seeing men beating each other up for money. I doubted anyone could take the lawlessness of the flats too seriously until they witnessed it. Even I had to admit that lone cold autumn night, in which I watched men and women gamble over brawling men, was haunting. I witnessed beating after beating. The guys who slept beside me each night laughed and cheered each opponent on. It was both exciting and frightening. I was glad when they told me to follow them back to our beds when it was all over.

"You better as hell start talking young man or else I'll throw you in bloody a gibbet so everyone in the compound can witness a fool!" the loud outburst was accompanied by a loud _slam_.

"**Oh boy."**

Cursing and yelling continued to be exchanged back and forth above the basement until I heard loud footsteps move around. _Thump-thump-thump_. I moved my head up as I heard the door to the basement _creak_ open. Boots stomped their way down the stair, until a tall woman with red war paint looked me down with a mad smirk. Kiba was behind her, his eyes were red and swollen. Fresh purple bruises were visible along his slender tanned arms.

The dusty air mixed awfully too well with the killer intent radiating off of her. Several men walked down the stairs wearing headbands of the leaf and green flask jackets. Everything was bad at one moment but it all turned worse the next. A large growling black hound ran down the steps of the basement while scratching the steps in the process with its razor sharp claws. The hound was massive roughly three feet tall and seven feet wide. It possessed mad red eyes and a brown furry chest.

"**I don't know how were going to get out of this. If it leads to a beating just take it."**

"So Naruto…" she walked closer until I had my head looking straight in the air to catch her eyes "It turns out you bring my son to the flats. My very own _flesh_ and _blood_. You did this because of what… a tale you heard from your friends while living here. You are no better than despicable street trash. The waste people throw from their homes smells like a garden compared to you. A devils child you are. Damned swine!"

One of the men commented too "A swine huh. Makes sense they sleep in mud. They eat in the mud. They deserve nothing better than the butchers axe!"

Tsume continued "You better not come to that monastery again whores child or else…"

Hot furious anger started to grow in my chest. I yelled back "My mom wasn't a whore!"

Tsume's brown bangs and spiky brown hair, similar to her sons was brushed to the side by her hand in complete anger. My back started to get cold at the thought of what was going to happen next.

"How would you know?"

I became silent as she continued "If you ever come back to the monastery I'll make sure that you won't ever be able to go to anymore monasteries ever again. Just so you know you're not allowed to see my son again. Do I make myself-"

The creaking door to the basement stopped her fury as a tall tanned man with glasses walked down. Whoever was walking down those steps was whistling the _Farmer in the Dell._ The whistling stopped as Amasa smirked at Tsume.

"You know there is a law about chaining boys to pipes."

"Why are you here this is now a shinobi business… and as you can see. We have everything under control." Spoke one of the shinobi present.

"By law shinobi are only allowed to take part in cases involving shinobi. You have no choice but to let the cops deal with them. And for divines sake put that hound on a leash."

One of the shinobi grabbed a leash and complied with Amasa's request.

Tsume smirked with glee before replying "The nice officers gladly wanted the case off their hands so they gave it to us. Now, Amasa how about you take _this boy_ of yours with you, and never cross my path again. I better not hear a word of your son playing with mine ever again. And never take him to the monastery or else I'll get those officers to arrest him if the issue should arise!"

One of the shinobi unlocked the cuff around my ankle and I bolted to Amasa's arms for some sort of comfort. His strong hands brought me to his right shoulder.

"So tell me Tsume how much does it cost to bribe an officer of the law in this town?"

"Depends on who you are, but just so you know I don't need to bribe my way through things."

Amasa left her presence not wanting to spend another minute in the room with her.

… …. ….

One of the officers came behind Amasa as he was carrying me home.

"What do you need sir?"

"Look we still need someone to go to court."

Amasa smiled before saying "That man got what he deserved. It's a sad truth but it is the truth none the less. If you want Naruto to go court you will need to come to my office and make your case against the Konoha council and a man named Danzo."

We left without hearing the officer's reply.

**One month later**

**Mazashi Apartment 456**

Amasa stared at me waiting for a response.

"Ego den tha prokalesei chaos." I finally said causing him to smile.

I was always in deep trouble and since the post office incident a month back I was forced to study till I grasped the concept of reading and writing. I wanted more time to play than read. It was after all Amasa's suggestion for me to grasp other languages.

Amasa was sitting across from me in the living room chair. He was reading the _Konoha Tribune_ the most popular paper in the nation. I was doing book work

"Not bad, keep practicing and you might one day be a master of all languages."

"Why do I need to learn something to speak a language that few people know how to speak?"

"Because Naruto more than a few people know how to speak it. If you ever have to leave this village on a mission don't you ever wonder if you might need to know the native tongue of that country?"

"Dad… I-I… I mean Amasa… this is the first time I've ever heard you talk about my future."

"You think I never listened to your pestering about joining the academy. I mean if a career as shinobi will make you happy I'm more than willing to support your dreams."

"I… it's just… no one has ever really cared about what I've wanted until you took care of me. Is everyone really like Tsume and just…"

"Just what?"

Amasa stared at me, giving me a knowing expression.

"Is everyone just plain out evil?"

"I know the world hasn't been kind to you. You have seen mostly the bad side of everything but do know Naruto. The world is as good as it is bad and it's been like that since the beginning of time. And it will continue to be like that."

I felt a warm feeling in my stomach and wondered if that was the feeling of love.

"**That's actually the feeling of hate."**

….. ….. ….

I was currently leaning against the gated wall of the apartment complex. The blue sky was brighter than one would imagine. A light cold autumn breeze blew my way. I was dressed in a light red cotton shirt, with a cheap dark plaid grey wool jacket over it. I had on a pair of black wool trousers and two matching white socks. I started to find the use of shoes to be of much better than being barefoot. I was wearing a pair of suede brown leather loafers and a dirty plaid flat cap finished my look.

Villagers and carriages moved along the paved road. Merchants at their stalls were yelling out to people on foot about their fine wares. There were several barrels to my left that separated me from none other than Kiba.

"I just wanted to let you know that our first day at the academy is in a week."

"Kiba I wanted to let you know. I don't hold you accountable for what happened that day."

"Can you stop saying that? Let's just leave what had happened in the past and go on."

I said nothing else. We both enjoyed the rest of the day by causing mischief.

**The next day**

I was eating an apple by the doorway waiting intently by the door. Arti was still at his forge doing god knows what and Amasa was at work visiting clients. My sapphire blue eyes kept their gaze at the front door to the apartment. Knew one simple glance away was enough-

"Naruto put on some shoes you ungrateful child!"

I turned around to meet none other than the notorious Ida Fermata, whom had nothing better to do with her own time but ruin mine.

"Is there a problem with not wearing any sandals or shoes in a house?"

"This is a nice flat and if you want to end up where you brought that Inuzuka heir. You better keep on talking. Those feet of yours are dirty enough and I expect you to scrub throughly tonight. Did you walk in the dirt again?"

Her accusation shocked me. Not because it was false but mostly because it was spot on true. Yesterday it was my suggestion to Kiba to commit a grand prank on Mr. McGrath. He was a wealthy immigrant from a mysterious isle off of Dravot. A place where beer comes cheap and supposedly snakes don't exist. He was a grumpy old man who over saw shipments of tea. He lived in the nicest and largest apartment in the Mazashi complex.

Every time I passed by his steps he would growl with a roar "You ungrateful rat. Kids like you should be either working or going to school. There's no fun or any middle ground to that."

The voice would usually yell in my head **"I never see him doing either or."**

His comment got progressively worse by the day. Tenants and people upper-class folk in the West side took to his charades by calling me names. I often wondered if I was truly was a whore's child, a murderer, an ugly rat, and an ungrateful child. Still his comments never broke my mischief resolve so getting back at him was only natural.

To make sure no could figure out I was the one behind burying his rocking chair halfway below the ground. I had to be as quiet about the incident as one can be.

"Yes Ida…"

A loud poof of smoke appeared behind me. As soon as it vanished none other than Might Guy in his glorious green spandex suit became apparent. He was currently doing a weird stance by standing still on his left leg. He had his right leg to his chest and both of his arms were spread out as he said "The flames of youth are growing taller by the day!"

Ida started to grit her teeth do to pure annoyance as she yelled "Why are you here?!"

Guy responded back "The flames of youth usually come to this fine joint every Friday but I'm here to give this young warrior his supplies. Courtesy of Danzo Shimura."

I smiled as he presented me a knapsack full of weapons.

* * *

**Finally done… sorry about not posting this earlier but I had finals and numerous exams last week. The story will pick up from here. From here on out the chapters will get more exciting. I promise you readers that.**

**Review please, for each review and follow helps me to write faster. **


	3. The first day

**A Fox's Love**

**Chapter 3: The first day**

"**Demon Speaking"**

"Normal speech"

"_Thoughts and emphasized words"_

**Hell yes! The Fifa cup is here. Sorry to all you readers from England I was rooting for you guys slightly. Anyways…**

**Thanks for the reviews and all my new followers. This chapter is where it gets more exciting. I've finally settled on what Naruto shall be wearing for most of this story. I remember watching the anime when it was all fillers and I remembered an episode where Naruto was wearing a hoodie like jacket. Now I know there weren't many hoodies or vests during the 1800's (which if you readers haven't realized is the techno setting for this story) but I think I can make a few exceptions, fashion wise. **

**Anyways enjoy the story I was excited to write this chapter and I hope my faithful readers will enjoy it too.**

**Chengdu Dango and Waffles**

Avon looked up from his newspaper in the far corner of Konoha's most frequented shinobi restaurant. The target walked up to a bar stool next to a small man. Avon estimated the man to be five feet five inches tall. The target on the other hand was a giant. He was just over six and half feet tall. The target had dark tanned skin and muscles that one would see on a boxer. Abir Levi wanted the man to be tagged and Avon was more than willing to tag him.

"So anything new on those two people watching the boy?" replied a man wearing a dark jacket with a cowl.

Avon studied the man's back trying his best to figure out what the man looked like. He had a small katana sheathed on his back. Avon couldn't tell if the man had a headband behind that damned cowl. It took most of Avon's own will power not to beat the damned vlacas to-

"Sir, do you want to order something?" asked a nice doll of a waitress.

"Ah… yes, how about… an order of Chengdu waffles, with some beer on the side." The waitress smiled as Avon handed her his menu.

Avon was pondering on the thought that once he was done tagging the poor malaka, he might as well fuck her good.

The target replied to his mysterious friend with the katana "Look at first I wondered who this Amasa man was. That was until I figured out he is none other than the legendary _wind burner_."

The mysterious man paused before replying "I can't recall any shinobi nick named… the _wind burner."_

"I thought so too but… this Amasa fellow is said to be stronger than Kakashi in his day. I-I've been trying real hard to look into this Ida. She told me her full names… Ida Fermata. The thing is there isn't any Ida Fermata in the whole country. All I know is she's been in Konoha for most of her…" the target stopped as soon as he spotted a purple headed shinobi.

The shinobi had a beautiful set of brown pupil-less eyes. Her violet hair was styled into a spiky pony tail and it practically covered her headband. She had on an opened tanned overcoat that had a purple inseam vividly on display. She was wearing an orange mini skirt and a fish net shirt. Military grade leather strapped chakra sandals, the one's one would see on a jonin, were on each foot. Steel leg guards stopped at her knees. All in all she was a sight to behold.

"Hey! If it isn't Taka and my fellow lieutenant Matsu! Seeing you both in here eating waffles and drinking beer this early in the morning is like watching the boys in the west side party."

"Anko Mitarashi the way you are dressed… I'd be surprised you weren't whoring your way through Konoha."

Avon smiled as he took a look at each of their faces. Abir Levi was going to love this.

…. … ….

"_He's killed before who's to say he won't kill again."_

-Nolan concerned

….. …. … … ..

**Naruto**

Five months had passed since my first day at the academy. The grey clouds in the sky were giving in and I couldn't help but cry. I had in my possession a knapsack on my back full of supplies and what food the apartment had in the pantry. The cheap factory made duffle bag by my feet was filled to the brim with clothes that dad… I mean Amasa bought me. A cold wicked breeze penetrated through my red hooded vest.

The hood wasn't up and I truly didn't care about the cold snapping my ears off. I was wearing a light blue long sleeved shirt under my red vest, a pair of industry made green cargo pants hugged my legs, several pairs of black socks hugged my feet, and a pair of wellington boots finished off my outfit.

"Where am I going to-to go?"

Amasa's glasses were fogging up but he didn't cry. The sky finally gave in causing white flakes of ice to fall to the earth. The Hokage monument in the distance was overtaken by white clouds of snow.

"I don't know… but I can't take care of you any longer."

**Five months ago**

The first day of school was a day that could take almost anyone anywhere. The first day of anything seemed to be important. So I did my best to dress nice and make a great impression. I traveled to the academy unaccompanied by any of my caretakers. It saddened me that none of them had the chance and time to take me to my first day of school. All three of them somehow by some sort of fling of fate weren't able to go. Amasa had to attend a hearing with judges at the capital city. The capital city was fifty miles north of Konoha and I was jealous to hear he was going to visit the capital by train.

Ida was busy with something. Whatever dragged her out in the middle of the night had to be an emergency of some kind. From day one she was always the one that had the time to watch me constantly. (Hell I'm being truthful by saying I was glad she wasn't taking me to my first day of school.)

Arti was busy at his forge like always. I found him to be more pointless at his job than Ida. Ida at very least had the time to make dinner for everyone. She at the very least knew a thing or two about cleaning. Arti on the other hand was only useful around a forge. I knew not a thing about my caretakers except for the fact that they were being paid to watch over me.

"**Ever wondered why an orphaned piece of crap like you was given three caretakers. Most kids in your position would have been left out in the street to rot with the rest of the opium heads."**

"_So what are you saying...? You know what, hearing a voice in my head is not a great way to start the first day of the academy."_

I passed by a crowd of parents telling their children to be good and to have fun. As I was passing by hateful looks were sent my way from grownups and teachers alike. Loud chatter turned to whispers. A growing pit of loneliness overtook my earlier excitement as I entered the large red military facility.

A mammoth cloud of realization entered my head at the prospect of me being the only new student unaccompanied by a parent.

I felt as if I was missing something. A great big hole of sadness filled me at the prospect of what every kid needs. Those needs aren't caretakers, they aren't streets, they aren't work stations, they aren't…

"**You're needs are the thoughts in your head. I'm the only one you need to trust. Don't you remember near the beginning of the summer the first night you spent at that retched apartment? The words I told you were along the lines that things are only going to get worse."**

"_Yes, and you also promised me that you were going to reward me for dealing with Ryoko. Deals are deals."_

"**People promise many things… go and find your classroom, now!"**

"_I'm not moving until I settle this with you! So about that reward."_

"**Promises are meant to be broken. Your reward was the experience of being cheated for what you are."**

"_Yeah well next time I have to deal with another Ryoko don't look to me for support."_

"**Don't look to you? I am you!" **

I took a seat in far back corner by the window. I waited until the classroom filled up with new students waiting for their sensei. I scanned the room for Kiba or anyone that I knew from the orphanage. None of them were here.

A gorgeous girl with soulful green eyes and shoulder length blond hair took a seat beside me. She smelled of roses and lavender. Her purple dyed outfit matched her beautiful fair skinned body. There weren't many girls in the orphanage that I could recall who looked as beautiful as the girl right next to me. Most of the girls in the west side were either disfigured by the factory work or were too dirty to truly blossom.

She turned her head in my direction and she gave me a confused frown.

"Are you alright you look sick?"

"No-no I'm alright." I said smiling my blush away.

She giggled then said back "You look kind of cute smiling like that."

I was about to reply until the door to the classroom slammed shut causing all of us new students to quiet down.

"My names Daikoku Funeno and I will be your sensei for the next two years."

Daikoku Funeno was a chubby bronze tanned man that felt empowered by his impressive brown haired goatee below his chin. Unlike most shinobi he wore his headband like a bandana and was unreasonable in most circumstances.

The first day of class went by in a boring breeze. After we all introduced ourselves to the class, I quickly realized by some divine entity that school sucked. Daikoku treated students of higher class with more respect than he treated the street rat of Konoha. I know I had to be grateful to this mysterious Danzo and dad for paying for my years at the academy. I'd probably still be making military sandals at a working station if not for them.

School ended and I was saddened that Kiba was nowhere to be found during recess. I was walking the full ten miles back home, trying my best to ignore the glares and murmurs of the various villagers. I was passing an opium house not far from the Mazashi apartments, when the voice felt it needed to say something.

"**Do you think you will actually learn anything in that rat trap?"**

"_It was the first day of school, were you expecting me to become Hokage in a day?"_

"**It would be nice if we can both skip all this boring drama. I know sooner or later all these weaklings will die. The only question I have is… will you be the one killing them all?"**

"_You're sick! I wouldn't kill anyone."_

"**Maybe you already have… you just don't know it."**

….. ….. …..

The next few weeks passed by quickly. Kiba seemed to disappear off the face of the Earth. I didn't feel like Amasa needed to know my concern over this situation. Amasa on the other hand was tutoring me outside of class. He wanted me to catch up with all the more educated academy students.

I had to give credit to dad he was doing a much better job at this than anyone else. Amasa was teaching me all these numerous languages and instead of him reading to me each night. He thought it would be great practice for me to read to him from now on. I was still rusty when it came to reading but I had to admit I was rustier when it came to writing.

Amasa couldn't hold his laughter when I showed him the letter I wrote to him when I was at the academy.

_Deer Amosa,_

_I hop wee can be bestest friends fom hear on ot. Oull be lik a geat sinobi one day. Lik the forth hokga. I will dfet Kyobi to. Im goin to make u Amosa poud. I will mak evryon in konha poud. No one will in Konha will hat me or hrt me. _

_Yor bestest son,_

_Naruto _

"Did you like it?"

"Naruto you're a special boy you know that. Of course I liked it."

**Two months later**

"Naruto what did you get yourself into this time?"

Ida's brown doe eyes peered deeply into my sapphire blue eyes with a look of concern plastered onto her face. She was dressed in a white, long sleeved, blouse that had a v shaped collar. She was also wearing an unusual black skirt that only went as far down as her knees. And for the first time since… ever… she was completely barefoot in the apartment.

I was at a loss of words for the fact that… this sure as hell wasn't Ida.

The apartment was radiating a sweet foreign scent. Was she cooking… _cookies_? Even so the whole place was freshly cleaned and…

I was surprised by the warmth of her soft white hands rubbing my cheeks. That surprise turned to horror as she pulled my red cotton jacket over my head. She was about to do the same thing to my shirt but I backed away to the door of the apartment in shock.

She held my red jacket in her hands. Inspecting each stitch until her eyes settled upon a large dark red stain upon the back of the jacket. She pulled me from the door and lifted up my black, long sleeved, shirt, very forcefully. I felt my eyes water. Blood was trickling down the back of my neck. Bruises covered my arms and chest. The bruises were pulsing with a thumping pain with every movement I made.

"It was just a couple of people."

Ida sighed as if her job was as bad as most. She quickly made a few hand signs and without uttering a single word. Her hands glowed a warm yellow color. I was still shirtless and felt the need to bolt to the door. I started to squirm my way from her grasp, but Ida was surprisingly strong for a women or _shinobi_.

"You're an idiot you know that. Just stop moving, Ok!"

The open wound on my head closed up as soon as her hands hovered over it. Her hands soon traveled down my chest. She asked me what happened in a mad tone of voice.

"I-I-I… was walking home from the-the school and… then… a couple of-of… people started punching me. I was then." I stopped talking as soon as water fell from my face, too ashamed to go on. In Konoha it's hard to say this but showing weakness was about as bad as telling everyone you were from Kumo. I stopped crying as soon as I accepted this concept in the working station.

"Naruto I won't tell anyone about this. You know… you remind me of someone."

"Who?" I said wiping away a tear.

"I had a son who looked just like you. He was a very handsome young man. He smiled like a goof head. I… was always hard on him. I wanted him to be… a strong young man, because those who are weak in this world. They're the ones who end up dying. Kids think their smart but trust me their all idiots."

"Ida… what happened to your son?"

Ida stopped her jutsu and had a look of confliction on her face. She then replied back without a smile "He's dead. He was one of the first killed in the Kyubi attack."

Ida left my side and came back a minute later with a plate full of cookies and a glass filled with milk. I quickly ate them all up feeling better by the second. After finishing the glass of milk I felt Ida's warm embrace. My head was nuzzled in-between both of her large breasts. A minute passed and I was surprised when she kissed me upon my forehead.

Her lips parted from my head but the words that came from her mouth surprised me more than anything "Naruto… I hope you will have a painful life and an even more painful death."

She left my side without a further word.

**The Shoguns Pride **

**Off of Emerald Bay, Hi no Kuni**

Clement Sasaki stared out into the dark churning waves of the sea. Clement was a native born citizen of Hi no Kuni. He spent most of his childhood living in a damned farm town called Menen. Clement smiled as he remembered his childhood. The times he spent dreaming of growing up to be someone important. The day's he would cry when food was scarce. The seconds he spent with his lovers embrace as they made love.

"Clement-kun want to have another go?" asked a familiar voice.

Clement smiled, he was getting to the age in which he felt remorseful after he consummated with much younger women. Mako had just turned fourteen a few months back. Her father was a poor, dumb, port worker, in Emerald Bay. Her father spent his days sweating with his gang at the port for the next florin. Her mother was busy, dealing with her five other children but even so… she was paid even less than her husband who spent his time working day and night. Her two youngest sons were also busy working their asses off in an iron works plant. Clement couldn't help but feel bad that their jobs revolved around crawling and fixing machinery.

Mako had a tougher time growing up. She wasn't a boy, so machinery and rope fixing was out of the question. Her young siblings were always sick with a cough so in order to pay her way through things, she took to whoring her ass around.

"Sure."

… …. ….. ….

"Ah-ah-ah god damn it! Just finish already!"

Clement was panting like a mad man as he yelled "Just… ah-ah-ah-ah… be… quiet."

…. .. . .. …..

Clement walked around his pleasure boat feeling a bad vibe. He wasn't one for the supernatural but even so he couldn't help but feel as if his life was on the line. That line was something he created when his childhood town was destroyed in the second great shinobi war, when he was only eleven years old.

Clement was situated in his office, sitting comfortably in a velvet chair as the ship rocked back and forth. Clement was at the very least not as old as Danzo. The damned man was a curse upon the Earth. The same Earth that each of the divines spent making. Danzo was always a jealous man. He was always jealous of Clement having the majority of the council under his hand. Danzo wanted the seat to Emerald Bay when news reached the capital over the oh so demise of the local daimyo and his whole family.

Danzo is midway into his fifties, while Clement is about to turn forty in a week. Clement is a rich lord while Danzo is a meandering war hawk. Clement could always recall their fights over policies and laws. Three quarters of the time Clement won. If anything the Hokage always praised Clement over Danzo in the council chambers.

There were only a few things Danzo had that always made Clement jealous. He had his own personal organization full of assassins and soldiers. Danzo controlled his own spy network. His cunningness was first to none. Danzo was also a reasonable man, an attribute, few people in Konoha knew about. But he just had to get the jinchuriki.

Clement felt almost bad for putting a humongous bounty on the boys head. Even so… there wasn't much time to leave any loose ends. Naruto has to go and the other six councilmen will see to it that the job gets done. There was although one problem with putting a hit on Naruto. And it revolves mostly around all the damn protection the boy gets.

The caretakers were always somehow watchful of him. Ambu black ops agents always follow him whenever he is outside. Not like they did anything to help him though. Danzo and several other members of the council were also going to die. The only thing that Clement needed to do was wait.

… … ….

Arsene rowed his boat slowly to the Shogun's Pride, trying his best not to attract attention. It was a moonless night, discrete silence, and invisibility was on his side. After throwing a line onto the boat and climbing upon the deck. The hours of memorizing the blue prints to the boat, was finally coming in handy as Arsene navigated his way to Clements office.

The office was fairly large and had numerous antiques. A wolfs pelt was laid out upon the wooden floor. Book shelves and tables were filled with volumes of rare tales. A great white light was reflected off of the windows to Clements liqueur cabinet.

Arsene made several hand signs for a transparency gen-jutsu that left him nearly invisible. He made his way behind Clement liking the fact that his shoes made not a sound. The only thing that Arsene could hear was the shaking of the boat and the churning of the waves.

Clement got up from his velvet throne unaware of the visitor behind him. He walked out of the office and made his way to the front of his pleasure boat. He took out a pipe, more than ready to smoke, but a strong thin rope quickly made its way around his neck.

Arsene pulled the garrote with all his might trying his best to end Clement's pitiful life. Clement began to gasp for air. His hands shot straight for his neck, trying to pull against the deadly force, but to no avail.

Arsene continued to do the job until Clement stopped struggling for help. Clements eyes were blood red and looked as if they were going to bulge out any second. His body turned a little stiff almost immediately. His hands fell to his side and his legs jerked enough for Arsene to fall down with the councilman.

Clement Sasaki was no more and Danzo was going to be proud. The only job left now was to burn the whole ship until its nothing more than drifting splinters.

"Katon: Kuikku nessho." A large hot flame appeared in front Arsene head.

The flame possessed green eyes and several sharp teeth as it manifested from thin air. The flame was quickly shot down to the wooden surface of the ship's deck. The deck was burning almost immediately; Arsene couldn't help but feel like an idiot as his escape route was compromised. He quickly jumped to the side of the ship not minding a loud _splash _of something falling into the water.

Not long after the ship started to burn, Arsene couldn't help but feel ashamed as he sailed away. Listening to the awful screaming was just bad enough, now that the job was done for Danzo.

**A couple of days later**

**Tarsal Forge**

Arti was hammering away at a horse shoe. Naruto was at the apartment being watched over by nearly four teams of shinobi in case villagers tried to kill him. (Not that Naruto knew of the shinobi's presence of course.)

Arti spent most of his life as a blacksmith, making weapons and bayonets for rifles. Danzo thought Arti was an idiot but it was all an act. Everything was. The name Arti was the biggest act of them all. The Hokage was right after all. The report Arti sent him a day ago was going to shut down everything, from Danzo's evil political corruptness to his presence over Naruto. Hiruzen Sarutobi was a fine man but even Arti had to admit he was after all an ignorant fool.

He just… the bells to the forge door chimed. A small customer wearing a black tail coat with a high collar looked around the forge as if it was nothing. He had a red headband and a leather holster that could only hold a .44 caliber baby dragoon pistol.

"Hello Mr. Taka! Abir Levi sends his regards."

Arti was about to reply but was unable to, as a loud blast erupted from the shinobi's gun. The smell of gun powder filled the shop as Taka died by his trusty anvil.

"Well at least coppers will think some west side opium head killed you."

**Sorry if this chapter seems to be a little jumpy. I was conflicted internally while writing Naruto's experience on his first day of school. I thought about making it a bad day, but then I thought fuck it. Let's get to the good shit. Heads up next chapter is going to be two to three times as long as this one. **

**Q: It's really weird to read those church stuff in this fic. naruto and religion look like real world doesn't mixed good (excepted those fantasy sect like jashin)**

**A: Had trouble understanding this at first but after deciphering it slowly I can't help but say I'm sorry if the monastery scene made people feel weird. To be truthful I made up the religion of the ten divines as a polytheistic religion. I feel as though there are more religions in the Naruto world besides jashin, which is worshipped as a cult. **


	4. Choices

**A Fox's Love**

**Chapter 4: Choices **

"**Demon Speaking"**

"Normal speech"

"_Thoughts and emphasized words"_

**Special thanks to Dark Angle of the Underworld for being my beta. Check her profile out. Anyhow here's the story.**

* * *

…. … . …..

"_You need money in order to get a bowl, although I think I can make an exception… for you."_

-Ayame

**Naruto**

Crazy Ling spread his index finger and pinky fingers far apart. His middle finger and ring finger were crossed as his other fingers were spread out. His hand looked almost like a W, as he showcased the West side gang sign with glee, while I passed by him on the way home from school. Crazy Ling was a man who worked along Fayette Street. Fayette Street was said to be the West side's first road. The road itself was narrow and the stone along the road was older than Konoha itself it seemed. The houses along it were either boarded up or had distinctive white smoke flowing from the windows.

I arrived home with the senseless thought in mind to mimic Crazy Ling's gang sign. It didn't turn out to be that hard to replicate. At the dinner table I was somewhat worried over an absence at the table. The great big hulking giant known formerly as Arti Yildirim was absent. His seat was neglected and was slowly collecting dust.

Ida was busy placing food on my plate and Amasa was preoccupied with a silver pocket watch he pulled out from his coat. Ida gave me a confused look when she saw me making Crazy Ling's gang sign. Still keeping his eyes on the watch Amasa said aloud "Naruto what are you doing?"

"I saw Crazy Ling and his workers making this when I passed by them earlier today."

Ida shook her head."Do you even know what guys like Crazy Ling do for a living?"

She brought out a great question. What they actually did for a living, I figured, was on par with the many street fights at the flats. Still though most people in this part of the village _treated me_ with a little bit more respect, than say people around the academy, and I usually over looked those scary things.

"Not really."

A small _huh_ was Ida's reply before she said "Guy's like Crazy Ling are the reason why this part of the village is ending up full of crime, death, poverty, and so on."

"So what does he do for a living?"

Amasa smiled at me before saying, "Naruto, have you ever seen people go to the doctor because they're in a lot of pain?" a small nod made him go on, "Opium is like the same thing. People need it to ease their pain only its different. Look Naruto, finish your dinner its getting cold."

**Mazashi Apartment 456**

Amasa closed his silver pocket watch and gazed into Ida's doe eyes. She reminded him of his wife before she passed away. Her black hair was shiny and her tanned skin glowed against the dark orange flames illuminating from the candles, within the room. When Amasa first met her she was a beautiful young girl.

"Mallorie, you had a hard day too huh? Come sit down by me."

She sat down bedside Amasa. The scent of lavender brought back even more memories.

"You know I don't like that name."

Amasa sighed as he smiled towards Ida.

"Sorry about that. I guess men like me forget things as we get older. I'm nearing forty and life has changed so much here over the last ten years that… I feel almost dizzy thinking about it. How have things been faring for you over the years?"

Ida seemed to smile for a moment but it turned into a slight frown. A loud whistle that came from the oven, stopped her from whatever she was going to say. After pouring a cup of tea for Amasa she voiced her opinion loud and clear "Can't say things have been good. But I can't say things have been awfully bad either. Perrin has been an ass to take care of. He's not like he was when he was younger."

"Perrin? Like the Perrin Urbain?"

"Yes, that's the one. He always wants two guys dead every week. Danzo pisses himself just having to deal with Perrin's old ass. Now working for him isn't so bad… Beats having to watch over a seven year old _demon_."

"Ida, you need to stop beating yourself up over his death. I've been feeling guilty even since I heard about his it"

Ida sipped her tea, her body stiff. "You know Marcus wasn't the only one to die. I was there at the time when it came from the East. Horns and horse riding boys warned people about it as it broke through the walls. Noboru however he-he dealt with those monsters that were plaguing the village. Flying lizards and rotting dogs chased people who were running for their lives. You weren't there to see the ice cold prowess of the demon. Hell, Marcus, at least was killed quickly. But-but… those things that appeared were just…"

"Inhuman. Noboru was a good man. He was maybe the noblest Senju in his whole clan. Naruto isn't like the Kyuubi in any way. You know perfectly well he's the-"

"Warden? Please, give me a break about that. I didn't want to take this job in the first place, but Perrin wanted me to be close. Just like how Danzo wants you to be close to him."

Amasa stared at his cup of tea, somewhat sad over what was going to happen. "I feel bad that we will be leaving him."

Ida had a fake smile dancing on her lips. Despite that, Amasa knew she was trying to comfort him for his sake, at least.

"There hasn't been a final decision yet." Ida said with a smirk.

**Hokage Towers**

"Danzo, I'm shutting down your project with Naruto. Hell, I'm half inclined to shut down Root but you know what? If you can explain yourself, and admit to the conspiracy of the murders of Clement Sasaki and Arti Yildirim, I might allow you to walk out of this office alive. But… if you feed me a lie, then I expect you to fall on the sword. Do I make myself clear?"

Danzo looked at his friend, while sweating a little.

"I-I… I admit that I'm the evil mastermind behind the death of Clement Sasaki. I've always wanted the damned man dead. I feel almost ashamed at not being able to kill him myself." Danzo straightened his hand around his cane. "We have killed men within this country just as foul as him. And what does it matter? The world will still shine now that he's gone."

Hiruzen didn't seem fazed by Danzo's response.

"Well, can you at least tell me why you had to kill Clement and _Arti? _And just so you know… if you want to miss that sword admit to everything. Trust is as strong as the men who create it. Can I trust you to be honest?"

"You can trust me with anything. Clement had to go. He placed bounties on numerous people's heads, including a young seven year old jinchuriki in this village. Those bounties on us won't be going away anytime soon; the money is already out there in some faraway place. Clement was planning on leaving the country on a steamboat to some rich islands off the coast of the Temujin continent. Arti on the other hand is another man's dirty work. I had nothing to do with him. I knew he was giving you information… but even I'm not stupid enough to kill an informant who's protected by the Hokage."

Hiruzen smiled at Danzo he narrowed his eye at that. Smiles were never his cup of tea and Sarutobi knew that. Something bad was going to happen.

"Danzo… I can't trust you anymore," Hiruzen said, his hands clasped on top of his desk. "You placed people around Naruto that have heavy ties to Root. Because of that the caretaker project is gone. I know you. Despite how loyal you have been over the years, you'll never stop thinking of yourself. Although I don't trust you, I can't let you fall on the sword. I need you as much as you need me. In order to make this work again, like it did before the fourth, we will need to focus on strengthening Konoha again. As to our agreement of Naruto being taken care of for six months, it still applies, and in two months, he will be sent back to the orphanage. He will be there until he graduates from the academy."

"Can I leave?"

Hiruzen brought out his trusty pipe and started smoking tobacco. A slight nod signified Danzo's freedom.

**Two months later**

**Naruto**

I stared at the doorknob of my room knowing that whatever was going to happen wasn't going to be good. For the past month Ida and Amasa both acted queerly. Amasa had a strange look on his face… as if he was… sad? Seeing the look of sadness on a face that wasn't mine was just… odd. Ida was different… She wasn't sad, happy, or angry. She ignored my questions over school work and further neglected my curiosity over Arti. I was curious at first as to why Arti disappeared but the voice quickly deduced he met his demise.

I truthfully didn't believe the voice at first. But as time passed his absence was less and less noticed on all our parts. Maybe the voice was right? If it was, wouldn't Amasa take me to his funeral? Then again I barely knew Arti, and when he actually did show up it was usually at times when everyone was asleep.

"_Who cares what happened to him anyways? He was useless to begin with just like rest of the people in this village."_

I looked around my room smiling as I remembered all the good memories and times spent in here. The small wooden desk in the corner of my room brought out the times Amasa tutored me on speaking Dravot. His deep voice was still ringing in my ears from the countless times he read me books by my bed. I thought the Holidays were a time of joy. A time meant for peace because the divine Ulthar blessed the Earth.

Ulthar was the god of the vigil, a divine that brought the others together. From Emerald Bay to the Salmaro Plato people spent time from December twenty first to New Year's celebrating the Holidays. Other religions like the Gates of Stability, the Fallen Star of Vivec, and Mithras spent time celebrating the winter months too. But I didn't feel like celebrating at the moment.

My stomach started to ache from fear. When I received news from Ida last night about packing everything I could carry. I thought at first we might be traveling somewhere outside of Konoha. School was over for the rest of the month and the rest of January. It wasn't too uncommon for people to travel this time of year. My stomach began to twist and churn into terrible knots by the second. What was going to happen?

Ida entered my room wearing winter clothes. She stood there looking down at me without even showing a single emotion on her face. Her lips showed not a frown or smile. Her cheeks were lightly florid due to the cold. I was sitting on my bed with a look of confusion.

"Naruto go outside and wait with Amasa. People are coming to take you away to a safe place. We won't… accompany you to that place," she paused for a second and walked over to my side, "You are a good person. I want you to become a well-mannered young man one day. Promise me this Naruto?"

Her words were almost comforting but I knew that her nice side was a little malicious. Ida removed her gloves from her hands and sat down beside me. Her cream colored right hand came to my whiskered face almost immediately. It was ice cold but became progressively warmer. She turned her head towards me giving me a view of her beautiful brown doe eyes.

"What?"

"Become strong. Prove to the people in this village that you're not what they think. Become Hokage or even something greater when you grow up. I… just want to say… I'm… I'm sorry."

"For what? You were one of the few people who treated me like a normal person. You've been mean before but… you… treated me at least decently recently the last couple of months. If my mom was still alive… I wished she could have been like you."

Her cheeks turned a darker shade of red. Sorrow became apparent on her face and for the first time in my life. I felt almost sympathetic for someone. She was like a mother to me; she healed my bruises from a beating; she told me to be respectful at the dinner table no matter how much I resented it. She wasn't a good person but she wasn't a bad one either.

I narrowed my eyes as she placed a sheathed knife in my palms. It was a long curved blade that was so unlike a regular kunai. The sheath was silver plated with wolves and dragons melded together, as if they were in a fighting with one another. I unsheathed the blade (with some strain) and was surprised by the thin razor sharp bottom. The metal itself was forged from silver and I expected the blade to be worth a fortune. I quickly sheathed it and looked at Ida. Without saying a word of thanks she brought me up and said, "Take it. You should get going."

….. ….. . . . ..

The grey clouds in the sky were giving in and I couldn't help but cry. I had in my possession a knapsack on my back full of supplies and what food the apartment had in the pantry. The cheap factory made duffle bag by my feet was filled to the brim with clothes that dad - I mean Amasa bought me. A cold wicked breeze penetrated through my red-hooded vest.

The hood wasn't up and I truly didn't care about the cold snapping my ears off. I was wearing a light blue long sleeved shirt under my red vest, a pair of green industry- made cargo pants, several pairs of black socks, and a pair of wellington boots.

"Where am I going to-to go?"

Amasa's glasses were fogging up but he didn't cry. The sky finally gave in causing white flakes of ice to fall to the earth. The Hokage monument in the distance was overtaken by flurries of snow.

"I don't know… But I can't take care of you any longer."

"Wh-wh-why? No one else will take care of me!"

Amasa was about to say something but a horse drawn coach that was being pulled by two black stallions stopped in front of us. Several men from the backseat of the coach jumped off. They were wearing thick clothes and the headbands on their heads signified their positions as shinobi.

"We're here to take young Naruto to the Phoenix Orphanage."

I nearly fell to my knees as soon as I heard the word _orphanage_. A battle raged in my mind against going or staying. I knew first off that if I went men like Sturgeon and Goro, they'd be gleeful about sending me back to the work station. If I stayed or put up a fight would it accomplish anything?

My legs did the thinking instead. I ran faster than ever before. I was halfway down Rue Grety before making a right turn onto Rue de la Coupe, a narrow street that led straight to Koontz Street. The shinobi from the coach were chakra thrusting from rooftop to rooftop following me through the flurries of snow.

Most of the carriages I passed by were either stopping or rolling faster than ever through the cold storm. The few people out and about scurried away as soon as they saw the tailing figures behind me. I started to thrust my arms back and forth in earnest trying my best to pull as much energy into outrunning the bastards. My chase continued on for minutes. The sky turned darker by the second as the snow started to fall harder.

My houghts whirled in fury as I ran along Koontz Street. If I could get onto Fayette I could easily lose the shinobi in one of the abandoned homes along the long street. If I went for Dansaert Avenue I might as well head for the Flats or the North Side where all the rich snobs live. Then again this is an issue best saved for later.

I kept pooling energy into my legs and arms. The cold wind started to bite my ears off in snippets. I could hear the shinobi above yelling out curses and things like "Damn he could make a bullet jealous!"

The few peasants and immigrants I passed by in the West Side either looked queerly at me or ignored my presence. My luck turned for the worst as I spotted several squads of genin and chunin down the stony road. Officers on horseback were blowing whistles that carried far into the area. I was gasping for air as I continued to run faster. The chunin that started this chase were far behind.

"**Up ahead is an alley way that can lead you to Leopold Boulevard. You'll have to make a sharp left turn or else you will be surrounded by the incoming shinobi up ahead. Once you're out of the alleyway, go straight ahead across the street. And if I remember correctly, if you turn right, you can get onto Rue Neuve which can bring you to safety."**

Of all times… the voice has to talk.

"_If I'm going to get caught I might as well go down in a blaze of glory."_

I kept running as my enemies surrounded me. I spotted an extremely narrow alleyway along the left side of the street. By the second, I was closing in on it. I was by the end of Koontz Street and the squads of shinobi and officers were all circling me. I saw a small opening between two young genin who both looked awfully too green to. This was my chance to get onto Fayette Street. My chance to lose them all for good in the numerous webs of abandoned buildings and opium homes.

Several chunin flew through numerous hand signs until they all chanted "Kekkai: Genki Fabaku!"

A blue transparent barrier appeared around me. I looked around trying to figure out a way out of this damned cage but it was futile. The walls of the chakra cage looked almost dangerous to the touch.

It was over. The only jutsu I could pull off at the moment was the regular tiger seal for releasing chakra. Even if I knew something like a fire jutsu I doubted it could actually take down the barrier. The blue walls kept humming every second in intervals and it looked ridiculously sturdy.

Several officers appeared from all corners and the shinobi from the apartments also caught up. One of the many shinobi at the scene walked in front of me on the other side of the barrier.

I stared at him as he said with glee "You're not going anywhere." He flew through hand sign to hand sign before finishing at the rabbit seal "Genjutsu: Kuroyume!"

I closed my eyes in fear. The coming attack was going to run through me soon.

The wind still nipped my ears and lips. The white crystals of ice on my head began to melt in steady beads of cold water. The humming of the barrier was still continuing. Maybe the attack was still being prepared?

I opened my eyes and saw the white landscape of the village I called home. The snow flurry continued on, layering the earth in clumps of crunching ice. The officers' faces were priceless. They all watched in awe fascination as if they expected me to fall into the abyss of the jutsu at any moment. The shinobi on the other hand had distinctive expressions on their faces in a whole other league. But the borderline expression everyone outside of the barrier shared was shock.

"Come on!" I said "I thought that was going to blow my mind!"

The shinobi in front of was livid and his face burned in humility.

"Shut up you damned idiot!" the man said with a fierce glare. "You're captured and that's all there is too it!"

I was quite but one of the shinobi couldn't help himself "Yeah but… I mean a seven year old boy broke your genjutsu that just says something about your abilities Katashi."

Everyone outside the barrier shared a laugh further infuriating the man in front of me. A few curses and a losers speech that went along the lines of "He must be cursed or something! The damn genjustu worked… he just tampered with it somehow!"

One of the officers blew from his spine tingling whistle. The commotion quickly stopped.

"Were here to book the boy. Aren't we?"

"Yes, but it'll take a couple more minutes till we the barrier falls."

"**Naruto this is your only opportunity to escape."**

"_What about it? What do you want me to do jump into the walls?"_

"**Release your chakra. The barrier will get weaker as you do this. Don't release a little bit of chakra, release all of it. If you do this right you might be able to walk free."**

I thought long and hard. The cold was turning my lips slightly purple and my ears were already scarlet red. The orphanage was starting to sound not that bad. At least they fed everyone. A bowl of porridge a day was better than nothing. The beds were flea ridden but I could eventually get used to it again. All I had at the moment was a knapsack full of books and whatnot and the clothes on my back.

My hands unwittingly formed the normal tiger seal. I focused my body on releasing the light kinetic energy known as chakra. My tiresome limbs started to feel warmer, my heavy panting turned to light gasps for air, and my vision turned slightly sharper as a blue veil of warm energy surrounded my being.

The officers outside the barrier blew their whistles and screamed for me to stop. The horses along Koontz Street whinnied and clambered for the air while on their hind legs. The shinobi on the other hand were too shocked or too bewildered over the fact that the veil around me kept growing bigger.

The barrier felt smaller around me as the veil turned into a blob of heavy-layered dark blue chakra. My chakra started to glow bright blue as it started to pour in large waves out of me. Before I knew it the whole inside of the barrier was completely covered in chakra. The plan was working out well until the barrier started to hum faster and grow smaller. I was surprised by this.

The voice said that the barrier was going to get weaker not stronger. The chakra leaking from my body was like a broken faucet. I separated my hands from one another breaking the hand tiger seal. But it was too late. The air in the barrier was getting thicker by the second. Time slowed down as my chakra condensed even more. I held my palms together trying to figure a way out of the waves of chakra. It was only a simple gesture but it quickly resulted in the barrier overloading. I pushed my palms on either side of me. The condensed chakra had no place to go but to the chakra resistant walls.

The shinobi outside of the barrier started arguing and the only words that I could remotely hear was "Run!"

An explosion popped the barrier as if it was a balloon. A blinding white light flashed in my eyes as everything around me became slow. The white light faded away from my eyes and I felt drained. Smoke covered the area around me and north and south both seemed displaced. Soot and dirt stained my body from head to toe. I was pretty sure that the shinobi around the area were going to come to their senses quickly.

I stood up on shaky legs and made my way down the alley way. I left the area and never noticed the burning buildings along Koontz Street.

**Later that day**

"Let me get this straight. Three squads of genin and five chunin were all bested by a boy who only joined the academy half a year ago. Not only did you all fail at apprehending Naruto, you have also cost this city fifty gold florin over the damages to the street and the houses along it!"

Hiruzen stared fiercely at the current generation of shinobi. The thing that upset him the most was the fact that the two chunin that were sent to escort him to the orphanage couldn't even keep up with a seven year old.

Something was going on. When Hiruzen first heard the news about Naruto's disappearance the first thing that popped into his head was Danzo. The man was a snake on the council but even Hiruzen knew he was a small threat compared to most.

"Isamu what was your squad's plan from the get go? Why did those idiots use a barrier to apprehend Naruto instead of chains?"

Isamu was a young genin who happened to pass just over a year ago. He was well-built and quite tall for his age, and was an intelligent boy, both in and out of the field; he was on Team 15, which was currently being led by Hisao Inuzuka. Unlike the other genin to pass this year, he was the only one to come from the prestigious Levi Clan. (Lately the clan was pushing the old Hokage to give them the rights of a shinobi clan but Hiruzen was cautious about it. The Levi Clan had to be the strongest of the civilian clans; they owned numerous factories and formed the largest law practice in the village.)

Isamu grinned maliciously at several chunin in the room. "Well, Hokage-sama, Team fifteen was out on patrol because the country's going to war soon. So, Mitsa sees some commotion all the way out in the west side. The West Side is of course where the scum of the village sleeps so I expected us to go into some sort of uproar. That wasn't the case here though. We happened to find several other genin teams along with three other chunin. We had no plan from the get go but to wait until he came running to us. Yes, we should've pounced him when he was running down Koontz Street but the chunin had the stripes. This Naruto then stopped and contemplated on turning down an alleyway we should of blocked or running ahead of us like an idiot. During that time, those two idiots made a barrier instead of slapping manacles on him and pistol whipping his ass."

The other eight genin had trouble killing their laughs when he finished. Hiruzen wasn't in the mood though. A small burst of killing intent instantly silenced them and Hiruzen then nodded towards one of the chunin to continue.

"I'd like to say that I apologize for my... incompetence, Hokage-sama," the chunin said, spitting out the last word with a bitter look. "It is true that I used the Genki Fabaku to trap him. The jutsu is known for keeping people inside it for long periods of time and I thought that it was best to be used for the situation. Norio, our genjutsu expert, thought it would be btter to put the boy to sleep so he wouldn't cause a further scene. Norio then… He then... performed a B-ranked genjutsu on him. I was there right next to him and for some reason, out of the blue, it didn't affect the boy. Naruto then flooded the whole barrier with his chakra. At first it did nothing but after awhile the barrier just started getting stronger until the whole barrier incased him whole. A second later, it blew up! The barrier must have gone into overdrive. I've never seen anyone pull something like that off before."

Hiruzen stared at the people in the room in shock. The chunin responsible for this had to be suspended or even shipped out in the coming month with the rest of the army. He, instead told them to leave his office before he sent them to the Hulks.

….. ….. …. ….. …

"What am I going to do?" Hiruzen said with a tinge of desperateness advisor Shikaku Nara.

Shikaku was dressed in a thick furred jacket that was still a little covered in snow. His usual pontail was almost unnoticeable under his troublesome hat. Homura Mitokado on the other hand stared at Hiruzen with a bit of envy. Homura looked almost fat with all the thick layers of thick clothes he wore.

"You should call off this damned search for Naruto," Shikaku said dismissively.

Homura's eyes widened in shock; it was around the witching hour and Hiruzen had almost four dozen teams searching for him at the moment. He felt guilty for trying to send him to the orphanage, which was why he needed to find Naruto ASAP.

"Are you insane, Shikaku!? The boy's freezing his balls off out there! What do you expect him to do for warmth, huh?" Homura's question went unanswered for a minute.

"I don't know? He can sleep with the wolves for all I care or even whore his seven year old ass around! If we continue this search and if we actually apprehend him, Naruto's going to look into why we want him so much. He's most likely already is wondering why he's being given the deluxe treatment with caretakers… while the other orphans cry themselves to sleep! We have almost one hundred and fifty shinobi working overtime on finding him, while another three hundred shinobi who have guard duty at this moment have the memo to keep their eyes open for him at all times. The Uchiha's are mad that they have to send out five hundred officers to look for a seven year old while keeping the village safe during a snow storm! If this goes on any longer… believe me Naruto will quickly figure out he's a jinchuriki."

Homura narrowed his eyes. "Do you have any manners? The boy isn't some weapon he is a human being!"

"I at least call him by his actually name," Shikaku said firmly. "I'm thinking about the numerous people who have to work out in the cold. Look… Naruto has made his bet he will sleep on it. The search teams have been out all over the village for the past few hours. And they haven't even picked up any clues or scents on his where about. If we go on searches every time some kid decides to not go to the orphanage we might as well sell waffles and build schools while we're at it."

"Fine call off the search," Hiruzen said, rubbing his eyes. "But remind the guards at the gates to be on the lookout for him. It would be for the best if he doesn't leave the village."

**Naruto**

The world around me swirled into a hazy mess. The oil lampposts' orange light flickered against the prevailing cold darkness. I traveled north, or what I thought was north. White flakes of snow entered my vision as I continued on. Officers serving the law or who knows what passed by my shadows, too busy to see or hear my presence. I invested my remaining motor skills to not get caught.

Streets paved with stone turned to neglected dirt roads. Tall buildings and factories spewing black fumes became a rare sight. My limbs felt like melting wax. My arms were so numb they felt like heavy glass. A single movement might as well shatter them. My legs had almost no feeling but for some reason I continued to walk.

Was I still in Konoha? I looked up in the hopes of finding a stone-faced mountain. But it was a futile effort for the only things out and about were the dancing shadows of trees and warm homes.

I held my arms together and tried my best to keep warm. Each step was another loud crunch and I couldn't help but wonder why I wasn't already caught. Trees covered in soft white ice flanked the wild forest around me. There were no song birds or any sort of woodland critters about.

The only living thing out and about in the forest was me. The darkness was profound and horrible. When did I arrive in a forest? Why do I have to be the one to die, all alone? These questions plagued my mind along with the fact that I was hungry, cold, and worst of all dying.

I tried to remember the good times in life, pranking Mr. McGrath with Kiba, smoking some tobacco, making Rufio step in crap, burning up Lucia's doll in the orphanage, tripping Surgeon, lying to Ryoko. Maybe I had that all wrong? None of that sounded good but it brought me pleasure. What was the point in being a good service day going boy?

"**Keep going. You're just shy of a mile from a roof."**

I almost laughed hysterically with tears coming down my cheeks. I was going to die all alone in the forest and I bet not a single soul would remember my name. Everyone I could remember hated my guts! The looks, the curses, the hate, the beatings, the closet, the work station, the academy, it all added up in one huge FUCK you at Naruto Brutus Uzamaki.

"**I don't hate you."**

_Screw you! You're the worst of the all! You're a lying plague! Since the day you happened to talk to me you've lied to me! From promising me things to being plain out being mean… That's reason enough for why I hate you! I must really be the dumbest peasant of the year for believing you wanted to get me away from the orphanage. The countless times you have taunted me have been...!_

My tears brought a trail of stinging pain as it traveled down. What was the point in attacking the voice anyway?

_I guess I truly am going crazy after all._

"**I guess you have the right to hate me. You are right after all. I have lied and berated you. But I have never truly hated you. Please listen, it's hard to say this without you believing me but…"**

_I'll listen. I'm going to die so I might as well listen to you._

"**I feed off your hate and your pain. That's how I have lived for thousands of years. You just happen to have more of it than anyone I have encountered. But you don't believe me don't you? It doesn't matter…"**

I must have traveled ten or twenty miles since Koontz Street. Cold snot started to burn my nostrils. My lips felt as if they were going to fall off. I smiled while tears met my chin and sang.

"O, sweet is the vale where the hawk gently glides,

On its clear winding way to the sea,

And dearer than all storied streams on earth beside,

Is this bright rolling river to me;

O, sweet are the moments when dreaming I roam,

Thro' my loved haunts now mossy and grey,

And dearer than all is my childhood's hallow'd home

That is crumb'lling now slowly away."

I continued moving my legs against the blurry world, but that world quickly turned dark.

.. … ….. … ..

Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead. A layer of comforting warmth covered my aching body as I laid on the hard flat ground in the fetal position. Death must have consumed my soul? Was I dead? Maybe not, but the warmth of the room was just… unnatural.

My eyes blinked several times trying to adjust to the foggy light of a dark sanctuary. I got up on the intent of finding out who saved me.

My bones ached; I possessed a sweaty, pungent smell; my flesh felt almost as if it wasn't a part of me. Staying still was almost like an exercise. I was at the very end of a corner in the sanctuary with a beige wooden door to my back. I looked around the dark room spotting old rotting aisles, with trash and dirt covering all of the areas. A burnt black podium barely stood up to my right.

T_his must be a monastery or some sort of temple? _I half-asked myself.

Strange bloody kanji riddled the floor in indecipherable text. The only word I could translate was _heat_. My stomach rumbled as if it had a mouth of its own.

"Is anyone here?"

"**Yeah… what do you want?"**

_Did someone save me?_

"**Yes… I saved you. You should be thanking me! If not for me your balls would have frozen off, just like everything else on this body of yours. But it doesn't matter you need to eat. Yet I doubt you'll be begging the sir for more."**

I was slightly relieved. I was slowly digging my way into a nice grave yesterday. But in the end the voice somehow… saved me?

"_Prove it! How did you save me? I bet this is another one of your lies isn't it? You're just another part of my mind! I'm going crazy… I'm…"_

"**You're not going crazy… you are crazy. The singing and the maddening laughter are pieces of the puzzle. Don't feel bad… we're all crazy. You don't have to believe me. But do know… I was the one who saved your ass last June. I have been the one keeping you alive over the years. What? When you get a bruise, don't you ever wonder why it disappears before your eyes within an hour? Last night you were a casket away from dying from hypothermia but I took over your mortal body. You were only two hundred feet away from shelter. I then performed a complicated seal around you so that you could stay warm. Believe it or not. All you have left is me, and that's the way things are going to go from here on out."**

I took a seat on one of the wooden benches. There wasn't any point in fighting with the voice. For some unexplained reason I felt useless. So much had passed since that fateful night in June. Embarrassment was one word that entered my mind whenever I thought back to that beating. Few people brought it up but most citizens of Konoha had that look on their faces as if they felt sorry for me. Sorry wasn't the right word for it. It was more like a mix between pity and fear.

People looked at me as if I was a monster in human form. I committed sins alright but I doubted that I was a monster. Monsters were things like the Kyuubi blood thirsty creatures with cravings of evil. Flashes of crimson blood and sharp hands scraping my thighs all but left me a hollow shell. The memory was so horrifying that I must have subconsciously blocked it off from my mind.

But was something like that even possible? All I could usually remembered were flickers of hands and rocks. At times I would wake up from nightmares thrashing around as pain overtook me. But those nightmares were rare. So rare in fact that I could only think of two nights in the past year in which I was relieving that whole experience.

A loud stomach grinding gargle echoed against the walls of the temple or monastery. I placed my hands against my slightly muscular chest trying my best to somehow ease the increasing pain in my organs. I was starving. That much was obvious. A day had passed since I last had a meal and every second was torture. My esophagus was used up from panting and thirst. My body was in as bad as the state of the rumbled and wet clothes on my back.

I needed food desperately but for some reason I realized. That wasn't going to be particularly easy on my part. Yes I was homeless before the caretakers but even then I knew the right places to steal bread and milk from shop owners; the right dumpsters and trash piles to salvage whatever I could get my hands on. Most days when I was too hurt from whatever happened, I was busy pulling brown colored water from over used wells by the factories.

But this was a different season. I wasn't in any condition to travel down to the West Side or to Central to find food; to beg on my knees to non-caring businessmen from high twenty story buildings.

I had to go back to school soon though. Becoming a shinobi wasn't just a dream anymore. It felt almost real now that I was at the level of destroying a whole street with just my chakra alone.

….. ….. . .. …. …

A month had passed by since I ran away. Konoha was still a snow covered land of white crystals and ice. Snow storms wrecked carriages and newly constructed railroads two times a week; and the last place I wanted to be was school. Days without food slowly ate away my body. My usual tanned skin looked slightly paler than it should, making me look as if I was an immigrant from Iwa. Kids and villagers looked at me with pity and amusement.

I wasn't the kid that most parents praised. I was in most adults eyes _a bad influence_. The type child most adults said was going to lead you down a dangerous path one day. May it be debt, opium, or crime my name usually would end up in a sentence like. _Look blank if you don't straighten out and behave like someone your age you're going to end up digging fens with Naruto Uzamaki. You keep getting in trouble like Naruto Uzamaki. Don't hang out along Fayette street or any down town place with any bad people because Naruto is a prime example of a bad outcome._ The one phrase that made me cry was this one._ Homeless bastards shouldn't be in this school with you. They're going to end up accomplishing nothing more than trouble._

When I walked through the red wooden doors of the academy, a silent, nerve-racking atmosphere instantaneously grew among the occupants of the country's most praised military school. Respected teachers known for their classes of algebra and history stared at me as if I was lost. My usually styled wavy golden blond hair was wild and untamed. My clothes were a mess. It wasn't like I had many ways in getting them clean.

The voice was planning on teaching me how to wash them along the creeks but that turned out to be a bad venture. The creeks were frigid, snow covered the ground, and since I had no other pair of clothes I was surely going to freeze me to death. Food wasn't easy to find. Searching the snowy forests for snared animals wasn't easy. The number of animals (animals being thin furred squirrels) I caught was less than the number of fingers I had on one hand.

I wasn't surprised to end up turning out to be a horrible cook. My greatest mistake when I caught my first squirrel wasn't skinning the damned thin animal. It was mainly starting the fire. I think I spent more time trying to start a fire than I spent trying to catch the squirrel. In the end I had no choice but to eat the beast raw. Meat was a dish I was beginning to appreciate. Whenever a hunt would fail (which during this time of year was all the time) I would be left with nothing else to eat but snow and trash.

Peers and older kids looked at me as if I was a foreigner. Their eyes traveled from my head to my toes. Quizzical looks and whispers traveled across the military campus as I made my way to Daikoku's classroom.

Questions plagued my mind like why wasn't I stopped by shinobi upon entering the building? Why did no one arrest me? I was, after all, the terror that destroyed Koontz Street. But then again I must have been given a free pass. How was that possible? It was simply beyond my reasoning. At least, I now have the chance of going to school for the next five years to one day become a shinobi. All I needed to do now was wait.

The rest of the day was plain out hell. My companions whom I was once friends with looked down at me as if I was an adder in the grass. Teachers upon seeing my face gave me looks of concern and fear. At recess everyone from my year ignored me. For what reason, how was I supposed to know? But for some reason I suspected it had to do with the Koontz Street incident.

I was still a slow reader and for the past few weeks improving my intelligence was the least important thing in the back of my mind. But the title on the front page of the Konoha Tribune shocked me.

_Explosion wrecks Koontz Street_

Just remembering the damned headline was enough to jolt me awake. I looked around the icy campus only to spot a tuft of brown hair and red painted fangs.

_Kiba!_

"**He's trouble. Remember the flats."**

I_ don't care he's my friend!_

"**Fine, but since I care about your well-being and the fact that I've been the reason you're still alive. Just… forget about it!"**

Not knowing what the voice was talking about I made my way from the cold oak tree which I usually sat at during recess to a small tool shack in which several people would hang out at. Kiba looked surprisingly taller since the last time I saw him. A gray furred jacket with the Inuzuka crest brought me awe at his fine wealth. Despite being rich he was maybe my only friend at the academy.

A month had passed since my first day at school and Kiba's visits by the Mazashi flats were seldom. His face at the academy had yet to be revealed. During that time I assumed he was in another classroom or even at the Fenland Academy because the Inuzuka's lived in the West Side. I grew bored by the day at not seeing his caring face and reassuring outlook on life. I figured he was my friend ever since he saved me from a beating early October. I could remember it perfectly now, it was the same day Ida acted all nice then all mean.

But how it all happened was clearer than the beating in late June. School was out and I had received light Detention from an ass fuck chunin named Iruka, after I was caught drinking beer on school property. An older kid offered me a sip and I was unlucky enough to be the one caught. When I walked out from detention in a gloomy mood, I was pushed over by a gang of older kids. I quickly ignored the provocative offense with the intention of going home.

"Hey West trash!"

I turned my head in their direction falling into their trap.

"What now!" I said.

"So was your mother the whore that was fucked by those tar skinned immigrants? Or was she the one that offered herself to the legion of Iwagakure soldiers?"

With a sudden rush of fury, I had lunged at them, with the intent of hopefully beating them to death.

The fight had quickly escalated into a full out brawl between me and five older guys much taller and bigger than me. Before I knew it, I was a bloody mess but I still fought on _terribly_. Each of my punches barely slowed them down. It only encouraged them to slam me against the concrete sidewalk of the academy _harder_. Kiba had come to my aid accompanied by a tall, brown-haired girl with a fair body.

The gang of bullies had fled as quickly I was defeated. I thanked the both of them for saving my life. And, strangely, the girl had looked at me and Kiba as if we both did something we weren't supposed to do. From then on, we hanged out more frequently, causing trouble, talking stick ball; we were inseparable from then on.

But what truly set us apart was that he was like me. Even at his young age he was used to death. He knew what it was like see someone killed before his eyes. I'm not talking about that incident at the flats last summer. He was no older than three when he witnessed his dad's death. He was maybe the only guy at the Konoha Academy that I could relate to when it came to having an absent parent or parents in my case.

Kiba was busy talking with four other guys to notice my presence. He was sitting down with his feet dangling atop a short concrete wall that traveled around one of the back entrances. His friends were in front of him mouthing off gibberish.

I arrived in front of Kiba as silent as a mouse as he said, "Look my Uncle Teru says that once the war's over and explorer Morton gets us allies. We're going to have ivory, copper, and rubber all the way up the queen's ass."

His buddies laughed in unison. The blue sky above us seemed almost too unnatural compared to the cold white ground. Kids my own age were talking and hanging out in cluster groups rather than playing around in the snow.

A couple of feet away from Kiba, one of his companions turned to me; his skin was the usual Hi no Kuni yellow, and the "above you" grin he was giving me made me feel slightly ashamed.

"Are those rags?"

I gave Kiba a hopeful look, trying my best to get him to notice me. Being ignored was almost on par with the abuse kids and grownups gave me. Kiba possessed an odd sort of glad expression on his face. The sort one would find on a person who was happy to see you but didn't to say it out loud.

"What do you want, Naruto?"

His reply brought a commotion of questions from Kiba's friends each of them saying things like.

"You know him?"

"Kiba you heard what he did right?"

"They say he's some sort of killer, like, how are you alive?"

"Be careful what you say to him! He might blow up the whole playground if you piss him off!"

I felt like a train just rammed me to the ground when I heard his friends say things like _killer_ and _blow up_. Did they know I was the one who caused the damage along Koontz Street? I took the way they were talking to me as a positive yes. I was, after all, no killer.

I read the newspaper and it said no one was killed in the explosion along Koontz Street. Some people were unluckily injured but it wasn't like I truly meant to hurt them. How I was still allowed to roam the streets and go to school was still beyond my reasoning.

"I-I…"

Kiba rolled his eyes as if he couldn't take this at the moment along with everything else in his life. His friends gazed at me coldly like most East Side kids. Instead of saying anything I walked away, knowing that Kiba and the rest of them wanted me as far away from their tribe as possible. Why? Because I wasn't meant to be here and that was reason enough for most people in this part of town to hate me.

Truthfully, most West Side kids resented every time I showed my face on Fayette Street. It had to do with a rivalry between the Fenland Academy and the Konoha Academy. The Fenland Academy was the village's second largest shinobi school and, unlike the Konoha Academy, it was where all the poor kids went to school to one day serve the military.

The rich clans from the North Side to the East Side fueled the rivalry between the schools because several years ago the Fourth Hokage passed a law giving immigrants the right to send their children to the Fenland Academy.

The other background stories were unknown to me but the true reason of this tale was simple. I was at the wrong school. People here hated me because I wasn't supposed to be here. But what I was to do? This Danzo fellow screwed my life over by paying for my whole tuition.

School ended with an exited cheer of screaming and laughter. I left the academy, not wanting to go back to my temple.

Hungry and with no place I needed to go to, I wandered around down town. Tall, twenty to forty floor buildings came into view. Some taller than the Belmont Monastery in the North Side, others brought more awe, a deep feeling to one day look out from the top floor of an executive building made my stomach light. The streets were paved with hard concrete. Unlit lamp posts ready to be lit in a moment's notice flanked the streets in an equally distanced from one another. Herds of people walked around the sidewalks letting busy two to four way lanes of carriages pass by. Stone bridges went from one end of the blackening rivers of Konoha to the other. Then all of a sudden my stomach began to growl like an unfed caged lion.

Wandering from street to street while villagers glared and stared at me in fear brought on some odd emotions. My rumbling stomach wasn't helping out in the slightest as a feeling of superiority emerged. I always felt like I was at the bottom of the pyramid. The trampled stone meant to carry the load off of everyone's angry shoulders. Still seeing mothers guiding their children away from me and men looking at me as if I was an exploding keg was much better than being hated.

A sizzling smell of spices and cooked food entered my nostrils. Following my stomach's guidance down a slightly less extravagant street, it was my total lack of surprise that led me to the curious small restaurant stand called Ichiraku's Ramen written in plain romaji alongside traditional kanji. I made my way inside the restaurant barely caring about an absence of florins or IOU's.

"Hey there!" The voice quite simply came from a pretty teenaged girl. "Welcome to Ichiraku's Ramen my names Ayame are you waiting for someone?"

She had light brown hair tied back into a pony tail and fair skin that went hand in hand with her brown eyes. A bright white bandana was tied around her pony tail and a working dress white working dress hugged her body, while a wide blue apron defined her wide hips. She was all in all a stunning girl.

Ten tall, round bar stools were lined up against a long table. I was too hungry to respond for the last meal I had, was over a day ago and let's make this clear; never attempt to eat smelly green cheese. The rotten and bitter taste still lingered in my throat. Bile and brown snow washed out the horrible dairy crap the best it could, but, the experience was haunting enough for me to deny anything else I find in the trash.

The salty cooked meat accompanied by saffron and peppers made drool drip from my gaping mouth. The angelic waitress (I assumed she was one) gave me a questioning look as I automatically sat down on one of the smaller stools in the far right corner of the stand. The menu was written down in Kanji against a wooden board hanging from the ceiling of the stand.

I cursed myself for not knowing what any of the characters meant. I spent the last seven months learning how to read romaji, which was a Dravot-orientated alphabet, so that Hi no Kuni could trade with the far West scum better.

"Little boy, where are your parents?"

The question made me frown. I had no parents. That was why I spent my early years in the work station making shoes. It was a question few adults asked because my face was so infamous among villagers. When I was kicked out of the orphanage people often called me names like thief and bastard. I was certainly the best thief in the village and before I met Amasa I took great pride in that fact.

I was also a bastard. No one knew who my parents were and most assumed by my tanned skin that one of them was an islander. My blond hair and blue eyes were a normal gene that immigrants from Iwa had or anyone from Mercia, so people assumed my dad was trader that ended up with a harlot in Emerald Bay. That was the main theory Surgeon would joke about in the orphanage.

"They're dead." I don't quite know that but I assume they both are.

"Do you have any money?"

I shook my head.

"My dad's not here right now and he makes it clear that I'm not supposed to serve homeless people. I'm sorry."

Tears fell from my eyes as those words sunk in my head. Why was I crying? Crying was a sign of weakness. A small murky glass mirror was nailed against the wall of the stand. My face was covered with bits of black soot. I looked almost as dirty as one of those child workers in the factories. Her eyes were sympathetic and warm.

"Look what's your name?"

"My…na-name's Nar-uto. Naruto Uzamaki." Sniffles and tears made my speech slightly less comprehensible.

"That's a cute name," Ayame said with a gentle smile. "Maelstrom. Naruto's also a fishcake people put in ramen you know. You're a cute boy do you have a girl friend?" She laughed at Naruto's expression. "I'm kidding. You need money in order to get a bowl, although I think I can make an exception… for you. If that's alright."

She quickly went inside a backroom and five minutes later she appeared with a large bowl filled to the brim with noodles and brown colored water. An aroma of salt, lemon juice, cooked onions, fish, rosemary, and other things hit me quickly with a great sensation. Thin noodles filled the bowl unlike anything I've seen before.

A light array of disgust flickered in her eyes as she witnessed me devouring the ramen with my own two hands. I was just so hungry I couldn't help myself. I thanked her and left the stand with no thought in mind of where I was going to go next.

**A year later**

A layer of ice covered the usual green land of Konoha. Black plumes of smoke continued to go into the gray sky all the way from the far West Side. People walked around me trying their best to ignore the homeless rat that plagues the streets day and night. My clothes were horrendously stained and were held together from my newly acquired skill at sewing. I had grown over two inches this year and because of that the clothes that I had in my possession when I ran away took strain and sweat to put on.

I crossed a familiar street down by the West Side. Wooden boards over windows flanked each flat and home as if a disaster struck the street. Small craters and iron red stained stones were all scattered along the bumpy road making it look like an ancient battle ground. The few stores and shops against each building had a vibe of danger and an eerie air.

Dealers selling opium and white powder from the new world flanked each corner. Yellow skin mixed against pale skinned foreigners from Iwa. Immigrants and villagers who were busy coming and going from the flats, the coal mines, the textile plants, the iron works, the brass mills, the steel furnaces, the warehouses, the newly built train station up by the North Side, were coming and going across Fayette street in a hurry.

Coppers and shinobi tried their best to patrol the streets in the violent and overly crowded blocks in the West Side. There were always problems that resulted in their patrols. There weren't many laws against gambling but the Hokage urged law enforcers to keep the streets clean. Gamblers wanted to gamble just as much as the cops and even some of the shinobi. So street fighters and dice rollers were given the blind eye because what harm comes from gambling, right?

There were no laws when it came to harlots and brothels. Priests devoted to the ten divines laid out their reasons for coming up with such a law as to ban sex for money. But just like gambling _it too_, was a force that was unstoppable.

Drugs, on the other hand, were a coming of age thing in the elemental nations. The problem officers had with enforcing these laws were that gangs and criminal organizations had this game figured out. The second the law arrived at the scene criminals had their ways of shutting everything down without getting caught. This wasn't always the case but because there were so few officers compared to the rising population of the village, keeping up with criminals who now were starting to possess firearms was a security concern.

I continued walking along the street with the thought of my temple in mind. Since I ran away life seemed more loose and horrible. Fights and beatings were more frequent. Most of the time bullies weren't involved. The only people I felt at home with were the poor degenerate populace of the West Side.

Shop owners here would at times offer me loaves of bread. My temple was quite simply the one place in which I truly felt safe. It's located in the Quinn Forest, exactly fifteen miles away from where I'm at along Fayette Street.

Rooms filled with molding furniture and broken glass intrigued my imagination. How the temple came to being and then one day falling into oblivion was a tale I would play in my mind day and night. I made my mark in the place by stalking up on recently invented things called matches. Each box was worth a bronze coin but one day I found a stall left unattended with over a hundred boxes filled with these matches. Unlucky for him I now had two dozen cases stacked high against the walls. I discovered a large rusty old cot with a mattress still on it in a separate room. That room turned into a sort of bedroom where I would keep books and any spare clothes and usable crap I could find.

The temple was strange. Its location was four miles north of old grumpy Naoki, an angry farmer who owns twenty acres of land inside of Konoha! The sight of a farmer was unsettling. I grew up with factories bustling with noise, with tall flats peering into the sky, with space being so precious I had to live in a room with over hundred kids in it for five years. Naoki would throw fits whenever he saw my wavy golden hair. At times an ancient arquebus would blast with pungent ignited gun powder into the sky, and sometimes even at me!

Besides him I couldn't think of anyone else living around the temple. I was on my way to visit Ayame and her nice father Teuchi only to-

"Look an ounce of powdered ops is worth three coppers. The guy asks for a pound of ops. Thirty coppers are worth a single gold coin and he gives you one and what do you do? You give him the full pound, Tsuneo, you dumb piece of shit!"

A tall man dressed in an expensive black leather jacket kept on yelling at his young dealer who was just a year older than me. The man had black hair that was combed in a straight style; he had tanned skin almost as tanned as mine, black eyes, and a well-muscled body.

Tsuneo was dressed up in a recently bought red hooded cotton jacket with thick denim pants and loafer shoes around his feet. He had brown hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and a wicked frown that had the look of _I don't give a shit_.

"So what! It was a gold coin."

"So what? You forget that he owes you more than just a gold coin."

"He needed to give you eighteen more coppers." I was surprised by how abruptly I said that.

The tall man's face turned towards me along with his very young dealer. Eyes filled with curiosity and anger stabbed right through me. The tall man's face lit up with a bit of kindness before he said with a roughness "Where'd you learn to count so well? This idiot can't even count past ten without looking down at his toes!"

His young worker stared daggers at me as I said "From school."

"Which one? The one's kids get sent off too to become high end workers or the one in which kids get sent off too to become killers."

"The one in which kid's become killers sir."

"Sir? My you're a well-mannered boy. So is it Fenland?"

"No… it's the Konoha Academy."

The man grew silent with a blank stare for awhile. "How'd you like to work here along this street with Tsuneo and Vadim. You can buy yourself some new clothes and food. Those rags can't even be called clothes, there held together by horribly stitched string. Most kids your age start out as look outs, but if you accept this deal you can do a great job selling op."

"**You need money and clothes. But I don't want to see you dead on the street."**

"_I can't survive the rest of my life by pickpocketing people for their food and loose coins."_

**"You've gotten this far?"  
**

_"Look. I'll just do this until I have enough money to get back on my feet."  
_

After a long pause I said with uncertainty "When should I start?"

"What's your name, boy?"

"It's Naruto Uzumaki, sir."

"The name's Quintus. If you have any problems just talk to me."

**"Oh you'll get yourself into many problems with these rats. Just you wait."**

* * *

**Finally chapter** **four is complete. I just want to say that the next chapter will be just as long as this one. I'm not sure when I'm going to post it but it might be early September or late August. I'd like to thank my loyal readers and my loyal followers. **

**Kekkai: Genki Fabaku (Barrier Release: Good Capture) – A, C-ranked barrier jutsu that's capable of trapping enemies real easily. The jutsu is capable of withstanding powerful offensive jutsus but only to an extent. The walls of the barrier are capable of burning the target slightly but can't cause any serious harm.**

**Genjutsu: Kuroyume (Illusion: black dream) – A, B-ranked genjutsu capable of torturing the opponent. The jutsu is capable of reaching more than one target and is well known for it's mysticism. **

**Guest-a fox's love looks really good and I feel this, as well as you, has a lot of potential. cant wait to see next chapter.**

**Response- I hope it looks good and I notice you were the person who wrote those other past reviews too. Thanks for your support.**

**Culaio-Very interesting story I really enjoy reading it :), but I must say that I am frequently confused why characters do what they do, like for example: Ida in this chapter at first nice to naruto then soon after says something really cruel to him, because of that I am frequently confused about characters and its hard for me to review.**

**Keep up the great work :D **

**Response- All the characters in this story do what they do because I felt making them complicated was better than making their personalities as deep as the surface. Ida has had a very rough life. Her son died and she's now stuck with someone she would rather not watch over. That scene was written as a warm and loving moment but I couldn't help but write her nasty comment as a bit of shock to whoevers reading it and a simple wish on her part to come true. **

**Anyways thanks for reading my loyal fans.**


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